Social bonding in prairie voles helps guide search for autism treatments
Thursday, April 28, 2011 - 11:30
in Psychology & Sociology
Researchers are focusing on prairie voles as a new model to screen the effectiveness of drugs to treat autism. They are starting with D-cycloserine, a drug resarchers have shown enhances behavioral therapy for phobias and also promotes pair bonding among prairie voles. Giving female voles D-cycloserine, which is thought to facilitate learning and memory, can encourage them to bond with a new male more quickly than usual.