# Mechanisms of male-specific amygdala-dependent deficits in approach and avoidance behaviors

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2020 · $139,055

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Neurodevelopmental disorders currently affect 1 in 6 children but males are disproportionately affected. The
cause of this robust sex difference is not known. Neurodevelopmental disorders involve disruptions in
approach and avoidance behaviors, which rely heavily on amygdala function. Our transgenic mice missing one
copy of the cell-adhesion molecule gene, PCDH10, exhibit male-specific behavioral and amygdalar
impairments, including social approach and threat conditioning deficits, decreased connectivity between the
lateral and basal nuclei of the amygdala, decreased NMDAR expression in the basolateral amygdala (BLA),
and increased filopodial spine density in the BLA; impairments in behavior, structure, and function that are
relevant to neurodevelopmental disorders. With this experimental system, we will study the mechanisms of
male-specific deficits in approach and avoidance behaviors and the mechanisms underlying behavioral rescue
on behavioral, cellular, molecular, and circuit levels. We will manipulate neonatal levels of testosterone and
measure social approach, threat conditioning, NMDAR expression, synaptic properties, and calcium activity in
excitatory BLA cells in vivo, using Western blots, whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology, and fiber
photometry. We will also study the effects of d-cycloserine, shown to rescue social approach, on ex vivo and in
vivo BLA activity. We will study main effects of sex, genotype, and treatment to help uncover mechanisms that
underlie the male preponderance of neurodevelopmental disorders in order to develop novel treatment
strategies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9974784
- **Project number:** 1K01MH119540-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah L Ferri
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $139,055
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-04-03 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9974784

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9974784, Mechanisms of male-specific amygdala-dependent deficits in approach and avoidance behaviors (1K01MH119540-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9974784. Licensed CC0.

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