NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Comparative neural mechanisms of pair bonding

这项行动资助了2020财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大了生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究金支持研究员的一项研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。大多数哺乳动物不会形成配偶关系，但包括人类和草原田鼠在内的少数哺乳动物物种能够发展终身的异性关系。大脑奖励结构中的化学信号对配对关系至关重要，强调了伴侣互动的奖励性质。草原田鼠与草原田鼠关系密切，但不配对。目前还不清楚形成配对关系的能力是否与每个物种与配偶的社会互动如何参与奖励回路有关。研究员将测量大脑的奖励回路对与伴侣的经历的反应是否存在物种差异。此外，研究员将实验性地操纵奖励途径，以确定这些回路是否控制田鼠的配对行为。这项研究将为了解常见大脑回路的进化变化如何导致物种特异性的社会行为提供见解。这项研究还将为我们了解在以非典型社会功能为特征的精神病理学中发挥作用的大脑回路提供信息。该研究员将获得先进的技术培训，并将带来神经科学的学习机会，服务不足的社区，以增加他们在biology.Although先前的工作已经揭示了草原和草甸田鼠中脑边缘多巴胺受体表达的差异，在社会引发的多巴胺动力学的差异是未开发的，但代表一个潜在的进化开关，可能是至关重要的过渡到一夫一妻制。研究员将通过使用草原和草甸田鼠的神经光度测定和化学发生学方法来检验配对结合的物种差异取决于奖励回路的差异激活的假设：1）比较在与配偶和新的异性动物相互作用期间腹侧被盖区的多巴胺能细胞的激活概况和延髓核中的下游多巴胺传递，和2）直接激活和抑制中脑边缘多巴胺能投射以找到成对键合的必要和充分条件。研究员将掌握包括病毒介导的细胞靶向，药物遗传学和实时神经递质释放动态评估在内的技术，同时还将磨练导师技能以及研究和教学方法。此外，该研究员将通过创建和展示展览和比较神经科学研讨会，扩大生物学中代表性不足的群体的包容性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Most mammals do not form pair bonds, yet a few mammalian species including humans and prairie voles are capable of developing lifelong opposite sex bonds. Chemical signals within the brain’s reward structures are critical for pair bonding, underscoring the rewarding nature of partner interactions. Meadow voles are closely related to prairie voles but do not pair bond. It is unknown if the ability to form a pair bond is tied to how social interactions with a mate engage the reward circuit of each species. The Fellow will measure if there are species differences in how the brain’s reward circuitry responds to experiences with a mate. Moreover, the Fellow will experimentally manipulate reward pathways to determine if these circuits control vole pair bonding behaviors. This research will provide insights into how evolutionary changes in common brain circuits have resulted in species-specific social behaviors. This research will also inform our understanding of brain circuits that play a role in psychopathologies characterized by atypical social functioning. The Fellow will gain advanced technical training and will bring neuroscientific learning opportunities to underserved communities to increase their participation in biology.Although prior work has revealed differences in mesolimbic dopamine receptor expression in prairie and meadow voles, differences in socially-elicited dopamine dynamics are unexplored but represent a potential evolutionary switch that may be crucial for the transition to monogamy. The Fellow will test the hypothesis that species differences in pair bonding depend on the differential activation of reward circuitry by using neurophotometric and chemogenetic approaches in prairie and meadows voles to 1) compare activation profiles of dopaminergic cells in the ventral tegmental area and downstream dopamine transmission in the nucleus accumbens during interactions with a mate and a novel opposite-sex animal, and 2) directly activate and inhibit mesolimbic dopaminergic projections to find the necessary and sufficient conditions for pair bonding. The Fellow will master techniques including virally mediated cell targeting, pharmacogenetics, and assessment of real-time neurotransmitter release dynamics, while also honing mentorship skills, and a research and teaching pedagogy. Furthermore, the Fellow will expand inclusion of underrepresented groups in biology through the creation and presentation of exhibits and workshops on comparative neuroscience.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.