University Honors

A leading cause of autism known as Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is among the most prevalentcauses of hereditary intellectual impairment worldwide (Stone et al., 2023). One major symptomof FXS is abnormal sensory sensitivity which may lead to elevated anxiety and behavioralproblems as seen in transgenic mouse models and human patients. Studies have established thatFXS model mice exhibit innate hyperactivity and hypersensitivity especially when exposed tonovel environments, but the connection to abnormal behavioral patterns remains unclear(Crawley, 2007). Here, we examined adult male C57BL/6J Fmr1 KO mice and C-57 wildtype(WT) mice, in an open field test (OFT) and nest building test when challenged with aversiveauditory stimuli and without such stimuli. In the OFT, we assessed velocity, distance traveled,and duration spent in each respective area to analyze anxiety-like behaviors and hyperactivity.Results revealed genotypic effects such that KO mice spent significantly less time in thigmotaxisand significantly more time in area B compared to WT mice in the presence of the auditorystimulus. In the nest building test, WT mice scored significantly higher compared to KO withoutthe sound stimulus and introduction of the auditory stimulus resulted in a narrowing of the scoresbetween KO and WT mice. These findings have potential implications to human patients withFXS to prevent the emergence of behavioral issues by limiting or gradually exposing patients toknown environmental triggers and learning how to manage and treat such symptoms moreeffectively over the long term.