Discussion
Our findings suggested a possible strategy to restore the social deficit through expansion of newborn neurons in hippocampus, which might provide a new insight into the treatment of autism.
Methods
Three approaches including repeated oxytocin administration, feeding in enriched environment and overexpression of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (Cdk4)-CyclinD1 complex in DG neural stem cells (NSCs) at the post-weaning stage were conducted.
Results
We found that the number of EdU labeled proliferative NSCs or retrovirus labeled newborn neurons was significantly increased after manipulations. The social recognition deficit was also significantly improved.