In order to control specific behavioral responses, transcriptionally distinct cell types assembled into dynamic brain circuits integrate environmental information with internal states and generate purposeful motor actions. While tools have been developed to independently measure the activity dynamics, connectivity and transcriptional profiles of individual neurons, it remains challenging to integrate this diverse information into a coherent model of behavior. To address this challenge, we aim to uncover the sensorimotor transformations leading to a complex naturalistic behavior, male and female parenting, by developing innovative molecular, imaging and systems-level approaches and by integrating multimodal information obtained from single neurons in behaving animals.
In aim 1, we will develop new tools to uncover the activity and the transcriptional identity of neuronal cell types involved in infant-mediated behavior.
In aim 2, we will explore in molecular, functional, and behavioral terms how olfactory and other sensory modalities underlie parenting behavior in males and females and in virgin versus mated states.
In aim 3, we will investigate how specific hypothalamic cell types process information reflecting behavioral outcomes using a combination of spatial transcriptomic, functional imaging, circuit tracing and behavioral methods.
In aim 4, we will combine cell-type based neuronal architecture with activity patterns across key brain regions to formulate predictive models underlying the neural control of parenting.
We propose to develop a transformative multimodal experimental platform to uncover the brain-wide architecture of neuronal circuits underlying parenting behavior in molecular, functional, connectivity-based and computational terms. We will use this experimental framework to shed light into the sensory motor transformation underlying parenting behavior as a function of the animal sex and physiological state.
