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This request for applications (RFA) was intended to advance understanding of the circuit basis for behavioral and cognitive alterations relevant to autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The goal was to determine the downstream consequences of autism-associated genetic perturbations on neural circuitry, with an emphasis on how collections of neurons operate in concert during autism-relevant behaviors. The program sought applications for investigations of neural circuits in awake, behaving rodent models of autism. SFARI worked closely with awarded investigative teams on all major aspects of the project, including selection of rodent models, data coordination and dissemination. Priority was given to projects focused on behaviors for which the underlying circuits are reasonably well established, with experiments including electrical or optical multi-neuronal recordings within microcircuits or macrocircuits. Studies needed to be centered on brain activity in awake, behaving animals. Recordings needed to be carried out in two or more rodent models of autism to find commonalities and distinctions between models. Competitive applications were expected from labs proposing to apply their established technical capabilities to the study of autism rodent models.

The Linking Early Neurodevelopment to Neural Circuit Outcomes RFA aims to bridge the gap in our understanding of whether and how developmental phenotypes caused by autism risk gene mutation lead to altered circuit formation and function. The objective of this RFA is to bridge this critical gap in understanding how developmental events impact later processes of circuit formation and function in ASD. SFARI strongly encourages proposals involving close collaboration between investigators from a range of backgrounds, such as developmental neurobiologists and circuit neuroscientists, in order to convincingly demonstrate causal links between disparate phenotypes in the chosen model(s). The program envisions bringing together scientists from a range of backgrounds to collaboratively conduct thorough characterizations of how early developmental events result in alterations to ASD-relevant neural circuitry in carefully chosen models.