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Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents an inheritable neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social communication deficits and repetitive behaviors. Numerous studies have underscored the significant roles played by genetic and environmental factors in the etiology of ASD, and these factors are known to perpetuate behavioral impairments across generations. Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to assess the behavioral and cognitive attributes in the second filial (F2) generation of male and female rats, with a particular focus on those whose parents had been exposed to valproic acid (VPA) during embryonic development. Methods: In this study, a cohort of 32 male and 32 female rats from the second filial (F2) generation, referred to as Mother.ASD, Father.ASD, or Both.ASD, was examined. These designations indicate whether the mother, father, or both parents had experienced embryonic exposure to valproic acid (600 mg/kg, i.p.). During adolescence, the F2 pups underwent behavioral and cognitive assessments, including open field testing, marble burying, social interaction evaluations, and Morris water maze tasks. Results: Our data revealed that while both the Mother.ASD and Father.ASD groups, regardless of sex, exhibited elevated anxiety‐like behavior in the open field test. Only the Mother.ASD group displayed repetitive behaviors and deficits in social memory. Additionally, spatial memory impairments were observed in both sexes. These findings highlight the transmission of autistic‐like behaviors in the offspring of Mother.ASD rats from both sexes. Nevertheless, future research endeavors should be more targeted in identifying the specific genes responsible for this transmission. Conclusion: In summary, our findings underscore the transmission of autistic‐like behaviors, including anxiety‐like behavior, repetitive actions, impairments in social interactions, and deficits in memory, to the offspring of the Mother.ASD group, irrespective of their sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by core symptoms including impairment in social communication and restrictive and repetitive behaviors and interests. Music has emerged in the past decade as an intervention therapy for children with ASD. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of music on cognition impairments in the valproic acid (VPA) rat model of autism. The VPA was administered for animal modeling of autism on embryonic day 12.5 (E12.5) (600 mg/kg). Male and female pups were sub divided into four main groups (Saline.Non‐music, VPA.Non‐music, Saline.Music, and VPA.Music). The rats in the music groups were exposed to Mozart's piano sonata K.448 for 30 days (4 h/day), from postnatal day (PND) 21 to 50. Autistic‐like behaviors were tested using a social interaction, the Morris water maze (MWM), and a passive avoidance tasks at the end of the PND 50. Our results demonstrated that VPA‐exposed rat pups had significantly lower sociability and social memory performance compared with the saline‐exposed rats in both sexes. VPA‐exposed rat pups exhibited learning and memory impairments in the MWM and passive avoidance tasks. Our results demonstrated that music improved sociability in VPA‐exposed rats, especially in males. Furthermore, our findings revealed that music improved learning impairments in VPA‐exposed male rats in MWM task. In addition, music improved spatial memory impairments in VPA‐exposed rats of both sexes. We also found that music improved passive avoidance memory impairments in VPA‐exposed rats of both sexes, especially in females. More investigation in future studies are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]