CAREER: Harnessing species differences to identify the cellular basis of social attachment

只有少数几种哺乳动物能够形成配对纽带，这是一夫一妻制的基本行为，大脑功能的变化是什么？草原田鼠和草甸田鼠提供了一个理想的机会，让他们了解大脑功能的这种变化。虽然这两个物种生活在同一地区，从共同的祖先进化而来，并拥有许多共同的身体特征，但它们表现出惊人的不同社会行为。草原田鼠结成了终身伴侣关系，而草甸田鼠则是乱交的。在这个职业奖项中，PI使用观察方法和操纵来询问与交配伙伴互动时大脑活动的差异是如何导致物种水平的行为差异的。除了回答生物学中的一个关键问题外，在田鼠身上实施新的实验方法，以前仅限于小鼠，有助于研究更传统的实验动物范围之外的问题。这些研究活动为本科生和研究生提供了真正的研究经验和高级神经科学技术培训。此外，将该项目的成果纳入现有的本科课程可以加强跨学科的STEM教育。博士课程的形成为当地一家拉美裔服务机构的学生提供了变革性的研究经验和在STEM领域取得进步的机会。即使在亲缘关系密切的物种之间，社会行为也可能有很大的不同，而适合物种的社会行为对生存和繁殖至关重要。导致这种多样性的机制在很大程度上仍未在神经元编码水平上得到检验。例如，即使面对类似的社会经历，比如交配，不同物种的神经元活动依赖于经验的模式如何不同，从而在一夫一妻制和滥交方面产生巨大的差异？这项提议的目的是通过利用一夫一妻制和乱交田鼠在配对结合上的差异来确定社会依恋的神经元基础。PI使用正交成像和功能方法来检验这一假说，即小齿田鼠配对联系的物种差异是由于中脑边缘奖赏回路中社会依恋编码的不同，而不是编码社会记忆的大脑区域的差异。具体地说，我们比较和操纵了两个物种中两个社会大脑区域的神经集合稳定性，以阐明复杂社会认知行为的细胞和系统水平的控制。PI对社会神经科学、比较研究、推广和教育的热情也被利用起来，通过培训本科生和研究生掌握尖端神经科学技术来加强跨学科和应用STEM教育。这些研究的进展正在通过为当地一家拉美裔服务机构的学生提供的博士课程纳入博尔德州立大学现有的课程。总而言之，这项职业提案将通过洞察社会纽带的神经元编码并为STEM教育创造机会，从根本上推进PI的长期目标。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

What are the changes in brain function that enable only a handful of mammalian species to form pair bonds, an essential behavior for monogamy? Prairie and meadow voles provide an ideal opportunity to home in on such changes in brain function. While these two species live in the same areas, have evolved from a common ancestor, and share many physical characteristics, they exhibit strikingly different social behaviors. Prairie voles form life long pair bonds while meadow voles are promiscuous. In this CAREER award the PI uses observational approaches and manipulations to ask how differences in brain activity in response to interactions with mating partners contribute to these species-level differences in behavior. In addition to answering a key question in biology, the implementation of new experimental approaches in voles, previously limited to mice, facilitates investigation of questions that are beyond the scope of more traditional laboratory animals. The research activities provide genuine research experiences and training in advanced neuroscience techniques for undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, incorporation of the project’s results in existing undergraduate coursework enhances interdisciplinary STEM education. The formation of a Pathway to PhD program provides transformative research experiences and opportunities for advancement in STEM for students at a local Hispanic-serving institution. Social behavior can differ dramatically even between closely related species, and species-appropriate social behavior is critical for survival and reproduction. The mechanisms that enable this diversity remain largely unexamined at the level of neuronal encoding. For instance, how do experience-dependent patterns of neuronal activity differ across species to produce vast differences in monogamy versus promiscuity even in the face of similar social experiences, such as mating? The goal of this proposal is to identify the neuronal basis of social attachment by leveraging differences in pair bonding in monogamous and promiscuous voles. The PI uses orthogonal imaging and functional approaches to test the hypothesis that species differences in pair bonding in microtine voles result from differences in the encoding of social attachment in mesolimbic reward circuits, and not in brain regions that encode social memory. Specifically, we compare and manipulate neural ensemble stability across two social brain regions in two species to illuminate the cellular and systems-level controls of complex sociocognitive behaviors. The PI’s passion for social neuroscience, comparative research, outreach, and education is also harnessed to strengthen interdisciplinary and applied STEM education by training undergraduate and graduate students in cutting-edge neuroscience techniques. Advances from these studies are being incorporated into existing courses at CU Boulder via a Pathway to PhD program for students at a local Hispanic-serving institution. In sum, this CAREER proposal will foundationally advance the PI’s long-term goals by providing insight into the neuronal encoding of social bonds and creating opportunities for STEM education.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.