In this new preprint, we describe how we discovered cognitive strengths in a cerebellum-specific mouse model of autism.

L7-Tsc1 mutant mice are learning faster on a complex decision-making task during which they need to accumulate sensory evidence. We replicated the faster learning with a cerebellum-specific perturbation in wild-type mice. 

In vivo recordings from cerebellum and forebrain areas suggest cerebellar complex-spike-driven altered forebrain activity in mice with improved learning capabilities.

Computational analysis revealed that faster-learning mice under both of these conditions had increased on-task focus, and spent less time in states where they relied on past trials.

In summary, we have established that cerebellum-based sensory sensitivity in a mouse model of autism spectrum disorder provides a fundamental confirmation of a core prediction of the weak coherence model.

The potential for variation in a brain trait to both disrupt features of everyday life and enhance specific skill domains recasts ASD not so much as a disorder but as a variation that, in particular niches, can be adaptive.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.23.474034v1