Neural connectivity and animal behaviour

我的长期研究计划是了解神经回路连接与其控制动物行为的能力之间的相互作用。神经系统不同区域之间的交流或连通性是其功能的基础。结构连通性表示不同区域之间的解剖连接。功能连接是不同区域之间神经激活模式的时间依赖性。它们共同确保对环境做出适当的行为反应。这包括社会行为，对社会物种的生存至关重要。然而，神经连通性与动物行为之间相互作用的机制尚不清楚。长期以来，杏仁核及其皮层连接被认为与调节情绪和社会行为以及从青春期到成年期的成熟过程有关。最近的研究表明，边缘下皮层（IL）和基底外侧杏仁核（BLA）通过直接投射相互连接，干扰这些投射会影响某些社会行为。然而，社会行为发展与IL-BLA功能连接之间的关系在很大程度上是未知的。此外，包括小鼠在内的许多物种的社会行为是性别依赖的，但对雌性动物的IL-BLA回路知之甚少。在接下来的5年里，我的目标是机械地研究与雌性和雄性小鼠社会行为发展相关的IL-BLA结构和功能连接。我的首要假设是IL-BLA连接在雌性和雄性小鼠之间的社会行为的差异发育和表达中起着关键作用。利用我所擅长的各种解剖学、遗传学、行为学和电生理学方法，我的团队将追求以下目标：目标1将确定在社交环境中，受试者暴露于社交气味或社交对象中，青少年与成年C57BL/6J小鼠IL-BLA连接的发展。目标2将通过化学遗传学方法调节IL-BLA回路的各个组成部分，确定幼鼠和成年小鼠IL-BLA功能连接与社会行为之间的关系。目标3将确定社会经验（如社会孤立）对IL-BLA连通性发展的影响。我的NSERC DG项目将为两性的神经连接和社会行为发展之间的关系，以及青春期对社会经验的易感性增加的机制提供新的见解。

My long-term research program is to understand the interplay between neural circuit connectivity and its ability to govern animal behaviour. The communication among distinct regions of the nervous system, or connectivity, is fundamental to its function. Structural connectivity represents anatomical connections between different regions. Functional connectivity is the temporal dependency of neural activation patterns between distinct regions. Together, they ensure proper behavioural response to the environment. This includes social behaviour, fundamental to the survival of social species. However, the mechanisms of the interaction between neural connectivity and animal behaviour are not well understood. The amygdala and its cortical connections have long been implicated in mediating emotional and social behaviours, as well as their maturation processes during development from adolescence to adulthood. Recent studies have shown that infralimbic cortex (IL) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) connect with each other through direct projections and perturbing these projections affect certain social behaviours. However, the relation between social behaviour development and IL-BLA functional connectivity is largely unknown. In addition, social behaviours are sex-dependent in many species, including mice, yet little is known about the IL-BLA circuit in female animals. In the next 5 years, my objectives are to mechanistically investigate structural and functional IL-BLA connectivity in relation to social behaviour development in both female and male mice. My overarching hypothesis is that IL-BLA connectivity plays a critical role in the differential development and expression of social behaviours between female and male mice. Using a variety of anatomical, genetic, behavioural, and electrophysiological approaches that I have expertise in, my team will pursue the following objectives: Objective 1 will determine development of IL-BLA connectivity in adolescent versus adult C57BL/6J mice, in the social contexts where the subject is exposed to either social odors or social subjects. Objective 2 will determine the relationship between IL-BLA functional connectivity and social behaviours in both juvenile and adult mice, by modulating individual components of this circuit using chemogenetic methods. Objective 3 will determine the effects of social experience, such as social isolation, on the development of IL-BLA connectivity. My NSERC DG program will provide novel insights into the relationship between neural connectivity and social behaviour development in both sexes, and the mechanisms of increased susceptibility to social experience during adolescence.