Michelle W. Antoine, Ph.D.

Proper brain function depends on the coordinated activity of neural circuits that receive, process, and transmit information. Genetic changes and environmental exposures can disrupt these processes during development, contributing to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), epilepsy, intellectual disability, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Although these conditions differ, they often occur together and cause similar difficulties with learning, adapting behavior, processing sensory information, and thinking. This overlap suggests that they may affect some of the same brain circuits and biological processes.

The Section on Neural Circuits seeks to understand how genetic mutations and environmental factors alter brain development and function, contributing to the symptoms of NDDs. We combine molecular, electrophysiological, whole-brain imaging, behavioral, and circuit-level methods to identify brain regions and connections that are especially vulnerable. One focus of our research is action–outcome learning: the ability to connect an action with its consequences, adjust behavior when the value of an outcome changes, and adapt to new situations. We study how prenatal alcohol exposure alters the brain plasticity needed for these abilities and seek molecular targets that can be used to restore brain function and cognitive performance.

Another major focus of our work is ASD and its overlap with epilepsy and other developmental brain disorders. We study changes in brain function shared across these conditions, including difficulties with learning and memory, behavioral flexibility, and sensory processing. Our goal is to identify their shared causes and develop ways to restore healthy brain function.

We also explore how infection and fever affect brain function. During a fever, some children with autism temporarily communicate and interact more effectively, think more clearly, show fewer repetitive behaviors, and experience less irritability. Higher body temperature has also been linked to fewer seizures in some forms of treatment-resistant epilepsy. We aim to determine whether these benefits result from increased body temperature, activation of the immune system, or a combination of both. We then seek to identify the biological pathways responsible and develop safe treatments that reproduce the benefits of fever without causing a fever.

Our ultimate goal is to uncover the shared mechanisms that disrupt brain circuits across ASD, FASD, epilepsy, and related neurodevelopmental disorders. These discoveries could provide a foundation for new treatments that restore brain function and improve cognitive and behavioral outcomes.

Michelle Antoine completed her postdoctoral training as a Miller Research Fellow and a UC President's Postdoctoral Fellow in the Laboratory of Dr. Daniel Feldman at the University of California, Berkeley. There, she investigated the synaptic and circuit mechanisms that contribute to Autism Spectrum Disorder. She completed her Ph.D. with Dr. Jean Hébert at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where she elucidated a novel mechanism for the inner ear regulation of striatal signaling, repetitive behavior and motor hyperactivity. This finding emphasized that sensory impairments may be overlooked as contributors to disorders that are conventionally thought to be of cerebral origin such as ADHD and autism. She started at the NIAAA in 2020 as a Stadtman tenure-track investigator and is currently the Acting Chief of the Section on Neural Circuits.