Relevance to Autism

Several studies have found rare variants in the NLGN4X gene in autism. Association was seen in Finnish and Caucasian population cohorts. However, several studies have found no rare variants in the NLGN4X gene in autistic patients in their cohorts (including Quebec population and IMGSAC cohorts).

Molecular Function

Neuroligins are cell-adhesion molecules at the postsynaptic side of the synapse .

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Model Summary

Nlg4 mutant flies show impairments in olfactory associative learning as well as a severe decrease in reversal learning task, a measure of behavioral flexibility. This deficit seems to be due to enhanced old memories, driven by inability to active Rac1-dependent forgetting. Nlg4-deficient mutant flies show decreased anxiety and altered sleep/activity patterns. Moreover, Nlg4 mutant flies show an increased probability to form groups which also are larger in size and less probability for males to remain single. When in groups, male Nlg4 mutants are more likely to form chains. When exposed to male courtship songs, mutant males are more like to show aggression towards other males.

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