Recently it has been proposed that impairments related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may reflect a more fundamental disruption in time perception. Here, we examined whether in utero exposure to valproic acid (VPA) can generate specific behavioral deficits related to ASD and time perception. Pups from control and VPA groups were tested using fixed-interval (FI) temporal bisection, peak interval, and intertemporal choice tasks. In addition, the rats were assessed on motor function, perseverative and exploratory behavior, anxiety, and memory. The VPA group displayed a leftward shift in timing functions. VPA rats displayed no deficits on the motor and memory tasks, but were significantly different from controls on measures of perseveration and anxiety.
Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD); Delay discounting; Rats; Time perception; Timing; Valproic Acid.
© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.