Chaodong Ding, Xiaqing Wang, Yiting Yuan, Yuefang Zhang, Yun Hu, C Wang, Ailian Du, Zilong Qiu
Variants in CSNK2B cause neurodevelopmental disorders with autism and epilepsy, but therapeutic evidence and translatable biomarkers remain limited. We generate Csnk2b haploinsufficient mice that recapitulate key disease features, including social and cognitive deficits, anxiety-like behavior, spontaneous seizures, cortical abnormalities, and reduced inhibitory interneurons. Early postnatal, brain-wide gene replacement improves survival and rescues structural, behavioral, and seizure phenotypes. Treatment also normalizes brain activity signatures linked to circuit function, including theta and gamma power, power ratios, interregional coherence, and gamma-band directional connectivity. These findings show that reduced Csnk2b dosage disrupts cortical development and network synchronization but can be corrected after birth. They also identify a compact set of noninvasive brain activity biomarkers with potential value for target engagement, dose selection, and longitudinal monitoring in future gene therapy studies.