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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Communications Biology

Disrupted cortex-wide dynamics impair motor planning in Shank3-mutant mice

  • Manuel Ambrosone1,2,3
  • Elena Montagni1,2
  • Timothy J. Buschman4,5
  • Anna Letizia Allegra Mascaro1,2
5 affiliations
  1. 1European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy, Florence, Italy
  2. 2National Research Council, Neuroscience Institute, Pisa, Italy
  3. 3Physics and Astronomy Department, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
  4. 4Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Washington Rd, Princeton, NJ USA
  5. 5Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Washington Rd, Princeton, NJ USA
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Abstract

Coordinated cortical activity underlies voluntary movement planning, yet its disruption is implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Mutations in the SHANK3 gene, a key ASD risk factor, affect synaptic integrity and cortical network function, but their impact on preparatory cortical dynamics remains unclear. Here, we employed wide-field calcium imaging combined with motion tracking and computational motif analysis to examine cortex-wide activity in Shank3b + /- mice during spontaneous forepaw movements. We found reduced correlation between cortical activity and behavior preceding movement onset, alongside decreased expression of specific cortical motifs involving associative and motor areas. These changes contributed to global functional hyperconnectivity and impaired motor planning. Our findings reveal that disrupted spatiotemporal cortical dynamics in Shank3b + /- mice impair preparatory motor processes, providing insight into neural mechanisms underlying ASD-related motor deficits.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{ambrosone2026disrupted,
  title = {{Disrupted cortex-wide dynamics impair motor planning in Shank3-mutant mice}},
  author = {Manuel Ambrosone and Elena Montagni and Timothy J. Buschman and Anna Letizia Allegra Mascaro},
  journal = {Communications Biology},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1038/s42003-026-10660-8},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10660-8},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Disrupted cortex-wide dynamics impair motor planning in Shank3-mutant mice
AU  - Manuel Ambrosone
AU  - Elena Montagni
AU  - Timothy J. Buschman
AU  - Anna Letizia Allegra Mascaro
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/13
JO  - Communications Biology
DO  - 10.1038/s42003-026-10660-8
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10660-8
AB  - Coordinated cortical activity underlies voluntary movement planning, yet its disruption is implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Mutations in the SHANK3 gene, a key ASD risk factor, affect synaptic integrity and cortical network function, but their impact on preparatory cortical dynamics remains unclear. Here, we employed wide-field calcium imaging combined with motion tracking and computational motif analysis to examine cortex-wide activity in Shank3b + /- mice during spontaneous forepaw movements. We found reduced correlation between cortical activity and behavior preceding movement onset, alongside decreased expression of specific cortical motifs involving associative and motor areas. These changes contributed to global functional hyperconnectivity and impaired motor planning. Our findings reveal that disrupted spatiotemporal cortical dynamics in Shank3b + /- mice impair preparatory motor processes, providing insight into neural mechanisms underlying ASD-related motor deficits.
SN  - 2399-3642
ER  -