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Neuropsychiatric disorders in which reduced social interest is a common symptom, such as autism, depression, and anxiety, are frequently associated with genetic mutations affecting γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic transmission. Benzodiazepine treatment, acting via GABA type-A receptors, improves social interaction in male mouse models with autism-like features. The protein diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI) can act as an endogenous benzodiazepine, but a role for DBI in social behavior has not been described. Here, we investigated the role of DBI in the social interest and recognition behavior of mice. The responses of DBI wild-type and knockout male and female mice to ovariectomized female wild-type mice (a neutral social stimulus) were evaluated in a habituation/dishabituation task. Both male and female knockout mice exhibited reduced social interest, and DBI knockout mice lacked the sex difference in social interest levels observed in wild-type mice, in which males showed higher social interest levels than females. The ability to discriminate between familiar and novel stimulus mice (social recognition) was not impaired in DBI-deficient mice of either sex. DBI knockouts could learn a rotarod motor task, and could discriminate between social and nonsocial odors. Both sexes of DBI knockout mice showed increased repetitive grooming behavior, but not in a manner that would account for the decrease in social investigation time. Genetic loss of DBI did not alter seminal vesicle weight, indicating that the social interest phenotype of males lacking DBI is not due to reduced circulating testosterone. Together, these studies show a novel role of DBI in driving social interest and motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examined parenting stress and child special healthcare needs to child neurocognitive development (NCD)., Design and Methods: This secondary analysis used data from the primary study, a longitudinal cohort study of mother-child dyads. Multivariable regression models examined the associations between parenting stress and child special healthcare needs with NCD. Mothers completed the Children with Special Health Care Needs Screener and the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. The outcome, child NCD, was evaluated using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-Third Edition (Bayley-III) Cognitive and Language Scales. Covariates included maternal and child sociodemographic factors and maternal knowledge of child development, depression, and IQ., Results: Of the 1040 mother-child dyads in this analysis, 171 (16.4 %) mothers reported that their child had one or more special healthcare needs and reported higher levels of parenting stress (PS) compared to those not experiencing health needs. Models including clinically significant PS along with identified child health needs showed the effect of 0.515 reduction (CI = 0.11, 0.92, p = .013) in Bayley-III Receptive Scaled scores., Conclusions: Clinically significant parenting stress and the presence of child special healthcare needs were associated with lower child NCD, specifically receptive communication skills., Practice Implications: Healthcare providers, including pediatric nurses, should support NCD in young children by identifying children with special healthcare needs early on, recognizing and providing support to decrease parenting stress, and delivering needed medical and developmental support to young children and their families., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)