Authors: Dan Ehninger Alcino J Silva
Publish Date: 2010/09/30
Volume: 41, Issue: 3, Pages: 357-363
Abstract
Tuberous sclerosis TSC is a singlegene disorder caused by heterozygous mutations in the TSC1 or TSC2 gene TSC is often associated with neurological eg epilepsy cognitive intellectual disabilities specific neuropsychological impairments and behavioral pathologies eg autism attention deficit hyperactivity disorder In addition there is a high prevalence of psychiatric problems in TSC populations including anxiety and mood disorders To date little is known about the pathogenetic bases of these associated psychiatric symptoms for instance it is unclear whether they are rooted in TSCassociated neurobiological alterations or whether they are secondary psychological phenomena eg because individuals have to cope with the burden of the disease Here we report elevated levels of anxietyrelated behaviors and mild deficits in two hippocampaldependent learning tasks in a Tsc2 dominant negative transgenic mouse model of TSC These findings establish a mouse model for TSCrelated anxiety phenotypes and suggest that anxiety disorders in TSC have a biological foundation
Keywords: