Integrating epilepsy and other comorbidities into autism spectrum disorder research: a call for animal models

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a clinically heterogeneous neurodevelopmental condition characterized by core social communication deficits and restricted/repetitive behaviors. The majority of cases present with certain medical and psychiatric comorbidities. These include epilepsy, gastrointestinal disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and metabolic dysregulation. While animal models are indispensable in pre-clinical research and studying ASD’s pathobiology, there remains a need to address these comorbidities while modelling major ASD clinical domains. The paper describes a spectrum of animal models for ASD and its comorbid disorders, with a focus on ASD & epilepsy co-occurrence.