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To study the role of the dopaminergic (DA) system in an animal model of ASD, we investigated the effects of embryonic exposure to valproic acid (VPA) on the postnatal development of the mesencephalic DA system in the domestic chick. We found that VPA affected the rostro-caudal distribution of DA neurons, without changing the expression levels of several dopaminergic markers in the mesencephalon. We also investigated a potential consequence of this altered DA neuronal distribution in the septum, a social brain area previously associated to social behavior in several vertebrate species, describing alterations in the expression of genes linked to DA neurotransmission. These findings support the emerging hypothesis of a role of DA dysfunction in ASD pathogenesis. Together with previous studies showing impairments of early social orienting behavior, these data also support the use of the domestic chick model to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms potentially involved in early ASD symptoms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnint.2022.804881","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,16]],"date-time":"2022-03-16T03:05:45Z","timestamp":1647399945000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Embryonic Valproate Exposure Alters Mesencephalic Dopaminergic Neurons Distribution and Septal Dopaminergic Gene Expression in Domestic Chicks"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Alice","family":"Adiletta","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alessandra","family":"Pross","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nicol\u00f2","family":"Taricco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Paola","family":"Sgad\u00f2","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.3389\/fnana.2020.00029","article-title":"Gestational exposure to sodium valproate disrupts fasciculation of the mesotelencephalic dopaminergic tract, with a selective reduction of dopaminergic output from the ventral tegmental area.","volume":"14","author":"\u00c1d\u00e1m","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front. 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