Deciphering the mechanisms mediating the dichotomous effects of fever on brain function and behavior

The project has identified brain networks and mechanisms contributing to learning deficits in ASD, discovered abnormal brain plasticity linked to in utero insults, demonstrated fever's alleviation of ASD symptoms by dampening voltage-gated channels, shown differential regulation of brain activity by fever components across cell classes, uncovered neural circuit mechanisms safeguarding the brain during fever, and identified brain regions affected by thermal and immune components of fever in epilepsy and ASD. Future work will extend these discoveries across multiple genetic variants associated with ASD and/or epilepsy to translate beneficial effects of fever into novel treatment strategies.