While there are many atypical findings in anatomy, genetics, connectivity, and other biologic parameters, there remains no discreet hypothesis to explain the core signs as well as the very frequent comorbidities. Although, ASD can be reliably diagnosed, the etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment targets remain poorly characterized. The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a heterogeneous group of developmental disorders. The songbird cerebral mesopallium area stood out as a potentially high expressing ADNP tissue, further strengthening the association of ADNP with sense integration and auditory-memory formation, previously implicated in mouse and human. In spatial view, a sexually-independent extensive form of expression was found for ADNP in the canary cerebrum (RNA in situ hybridization). Parallel transcript expression patterns for FoxP2 and VIP, were observed alongside specific FoxP2 increase in males compared with females as well as VIP/ADNP2 correlations. Additional analyses for the mRNA transcripts of the ADNP- regulator, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), sister gene ADNP2, and speech-related Forkhead box protein P2 (FoxP2) revealed multiple sex and brain region-dependent positive correlations between the genes (including ADNP). Herein, we report of a similar sex-dependent ADNP expression profile, with highest expression in the cerebrum (qRT-PCR) in the brain of another songbird, the domesticated canary (Serinus canaria domestica). In zebra finch songbird brain (ZF Taeniopygia guttata), an animal model used for song/language studies, ADNP mRNA most robust expression is observed in the cerebrum of young males, potentially corroborating with male ZF exclusive singing behavior and developed cerebral song system. In the Adnp haploinsufficient mouse model, many of these impediments are evident, appearing in a sex-dependent manner. This syndrome is characterized by developmental delays, impairments in speech, motor function, abnormal hearing and intellectual disabilities. The ADNP syndrome is an autistic-like disorder, instigated by mutations in activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP). This review describes and analyzes the main methodical approaches in modeling of autism spectrum disorders in animals, and behavioral methods used in the studies of these models. A part of them are ' classic ' (e.g., the open field test, Morris water maze, T-like maze, radial maze, and Skinner's chamber), while others have been designed specifically for models of autism. To investigate behavioral deviations in the model animals, behavioral testing methods are used. The respective simulations are carried out using either techniques of genetic engineering (knockout rats and mice) or early (pre-or postnatal) influences of certain environmental factors.

A few animal models of autistic disorders have been developed these models reproduce one or a few key symptoms of autism (cognitive rigidity, violations of social interactions, and qualitative disorders of communication).

At present, the incidence of such disorders is increasing, reasons for their appearance remain practically unclear, and there are no sufficiently effective treatments of these pathologies. Here I highlight recent advances in using the songbird model to probe the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the formation and function of neural circuitry for birdsong and, by analogy, human language, with the ultimate goal of identifying any shared or human unique biological pathways underscoring language development and its disruption in ASD.ДЄutism spectrum disorders constitute a significant problem in modern neurology and in neuroscience in general. Human speech and birdsong reveal important parallels, highlighting similar developmental critical periods, a homologous cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuitry, and a critical role for social influences in the learning of vocalizations. Like humans, but unlike traditional laboratory animals such as rodents or non-human primates, songbirds exhibit the capacity of vocal learning, a key subcomponent of language. Given that no single animal model can fully capture the behavioral and genetic complexity of ASD, work in songbird, an experimentally tractable animal model of vocal learning, can complement the valuable tool of rodent genetic models and contribute important insights to our understanding of the communication deficits observed in ASD.

The neural and genetic bases of human language development and associated neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in which language impairment represents a core deficit, are poorly understood.

Songbird animal