Postnatal sensory experience and barrel cortex alterations anticipate autistic traits in a mouse model of CDKL5 deficiency disorder

Autistic traits may arise from atypical sensory experience during postnatal life, but whether there is a causal link between defects in cortical circuitry in the brain, altered sensory processing and social behavior remains unknown. Here, we studied tactile stimuli processing in the barrel cortex (BC) and social interactions in juvenile male mice lacking Cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5), a model of a severe neurodevelopmental disease showing autistic traits and sensory impairments. We identified in these mice defects of whisker-dependent postnatal sensorimotor reflexes, NMDA receptors-dependent signaling, and dendritic orientation in thalamic inputs-receiving spiny stellate neurons. We also found that CDKL5 is required for mapping and processing whisker-derived tactile stimuli in the BC. Intriguingly, KO mice show autistic traits at P21 that are ameliorated by neonatal CDKL5 replacement in the BC. Our data suggest that CDKL5 is required to link tactile processing in the BC to the onset of social interaction abilities.