{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,28]],"date-time":"2026-10-28T03:25:16Z","timestamp":1793157916038,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,13]],"date-time":"2023-02-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1676246400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001691","name":"JSPS KAKENHI","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["22K07346"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["22K07346"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001691","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001691","name":"JSPS KAKENHI","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["21J40098"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["21J40098"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001691","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001691","name":"JSPS KAKENHI","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2022C026"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022C026"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001691","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese medicine","award":["22K07346"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["22K07346"]}]},{"name":"Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese medicine","award":["21J40098"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["21J40098"]}]},{"name":"Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese medicine","award":["2022C026"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022C026"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Brain Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a congenital, lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder whose main symptom is impaired social communication and interaction. However, no drug can treat social deficits in patients with ASD, and treatments to alleviate social behavioral deficits are sorely needed. Here, we examined the effect of oral supplementation of maca (Lepidium meyenii) on social deficits of in utero-exposed valproic acid (VPA) mice, widely used as an ASD model. Although maca is widely consumed as a fertility enhancer and aphrodisiac, it possesses multiple beneficial activities. Additionally, it benefits learning and memory in experimental animal models. Therefore, the effect of maca supplementation on the social behavioral deficit of VPA mice was assessed using a social interaction test, a three-stage open field test, and a five-trial social memory test. The oral supplementation of maca attenuated social interaction behavior deficit and social memory impairment. The number of c-Fos-positive cells and the percentage of c-Fos-positive oxytocin neurons increased in supraoptic and paraventricular neurons of maca-treated VPA mice. These results reveal for the first time that maca is beneficial to social memory and that it restores social recognition impairments by augmenting the oxytocinergic neuronal pathways, which play an essential role in diverse social behaviors.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci13020316","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,13]],"date-time":"2023-02-13T05:25:26Z","timestamp":1676265926000},"page":"316","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Oral Supplementation with Maca Improves Social Recognition Deficits in the Valproic Acid Animal Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Pinyue","family":"Fu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan"},{"name":"Division of Socio-Cognitive-Neuroscience, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shuxin","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan"},{"name":"Physiological Department, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning 530011, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhongyu","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan"},{"name":"Physiological Department, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning 530011, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kazumi","family":"Furuhara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Takahiro","family":"Tsuji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan"},{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui 910-1193, Japan"},{"name":"Life Science Innovation Center, University of Fukui, Fukui 910-1193, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1779-0606","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Haruhiro","family":"Higashida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shigeru","family":"Yokoyama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan"},{"name":"Division of Socio-Cognitive-Neuroscience, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Zhong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physiological Department, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning 530011, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chiharu","family":"Tsuji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"367","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.med.60.053107.121225","article-title":"Advances in autism","volume":"60","author":"Geschwind","year":"2009","journal-title":"Annu. 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