Objective:To explore the effect of thymol on improving the core symptoms of autism through regulating scinderin expres-sion in autism spectrum disorder(ASD)rats by constructing valproic acid-induced ASD rat model and intervening with thymol.Methods:The ASD-like behaviors of rats were observed using three box social experiment,open field experiment,and youth social ex-periment.RNA-seq was used to detect the expression of RNA in the prefrontal cortex of rats.The protein level of scinderin in the pre-frontal cortex of rats was measured by Western blot.Results:Compared with the rats in the control group,the rats in the model group showed ASD-like behaviors,including decreased social ability,impaired social preference,decreased exploration ability,and repeated stereotyped behavior.Compared with the control group,the model group showed reduced standing times(P<0.001)and increased self combing time(P=0.003).Moreover,the expression level of scinderin in the prefrontal cortex increased in model rats.After thymol treat-ment,the ASD-like behaviors in the model group were significantly improved.Compared with the model group,the number of standing times in the intervention group increased(P<0.001)and the self grooming time decreased(P=0.004).The expression of scinderin basi-cally returned to the normal level.Conclusion:The abnormal expression of scinderin in the prefrontal cortex of ASD model rats can lead to ASD-like behaviors.Thymol intervention can reduce the expression of scinderin and improve the core symptoms of ASD.