Articles

  • the Korean Society for Brain and Neural Sciences

Article

Review Article

Exp Neurobiol 2015; 24(4): 285-300

Published online December 30, 2015

https://doi.org/10.5607/en.2015.24.4.285

© The Korean Society for Brain and Neural Sciences

Exploring the Validity of Valproic Acid Animal Model of Autism

Darine Froy N. Mabunga1, Edson Luck T. Gonzales1, Ji-woon Kim1, Ki Chan Kim1 and Chan Young Shin1,2*

1Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, and Neuroscience Research Center, SMART-IABS and KU Open Innovation Center, Konkuk University, 2Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea

Correspondence to: *To whom correspondence should be addressed.
TEL: 82-2-2030-7834, FAX: 82-2-2049-7899
e-mail: chanyshin@kku.ac.kr

Received: October 23, 2015; Revised: December 1, 2015; Accepted: December 2, 2015

Abstract

The valproic acid (VPA) animal model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most widely used animal model in the field. Like any other disease models, it can't model the totality of the features seen in autism. Then, is it valid to model autism? This model demonstrates many of the structural and behavioral features that can be observed in individuals with autism. These similarities enable the model to define relevant pathways of developmental dysregulation resulting from environmental manipulation. The uncovering of these complex pathways resulted to the growing pool of potential therapeutic candidates addressing the core symptoms of ASD. Here, we summarize the validity points of VPA that may or may not qualify it as a valid animal model of ASD.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, construct validity, face validity, predictive validity, animal model, social communication deficit