R01MH130941

Neural Circuit Mechanisms of Allogrooming Behavior - Project Summary/Abstract

Affiliative social interactions play an essential role in the reproduction and survival of social species, including humans. Its disruption in neuropsychiatric conditions or during times of social isolation such as the COVID-19 pandemic can take a heavy toll on mental and physical well-being. However, the neural circuit mechanisms governing affiliative social behaviors are not well understood.

Allogrooming (grooming behavior directed toward another individual) is a major form of affiliative social contact through which animals may form, maintain, and strengthen social relationships and is conserved in a wide range of social species, such as birds, bats, rodents, canids, cats, equids, and primates. However, the neural circuitry underlying allogrooming has been sparsely explored, and few brain areas that encode and promote affiliative allogrooming have been identified.

Deciphering the neural circuit mechanisms of affiliative allogrooming will provide key insights into the neural basis underlying social affiliation and attachment. Given the prominent impairment in affiliative social behavior in several neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism and schizophrenia, this understanding can guide circuit-level investigation of disease mechanisms and development of interventions.

In recent studies, we established an ethologically relevant and experimentally tractable paradigm for studying allogrooming behavior in laboratory mice and uncovered a key role of a medial amygdala (MEA)-to-medial preoptic area (MPOA) circuit in controlling this behavior. These findings open up valuable opportunities for in-depth dissection of the functional circuitry underlying allogrooming behavior.

The central objective of this application is to elucidate the neural circuit mechanisms through which the MPOA controls allogrooming, which represents a critical next step toward defining the functional organization of the neural circuitry of affiliative social behavior. We propose a series of experiments to comprehensively probe whether and how the activity of select MPOA neuronal subpopulations and their downstream targets regulate allogrooming behavior.

Specifically, we will address the following important questions:

(Aim 1) Is allogrooming behavior controlled by select, molecularly defined MPOA subpopulations?

(Aim 2) Whether and how neural activity dynamics in MPOA neurons encode social sensory cues and allogrooming behavior?

(Aim 3) What are the neural circuits downstream of the MPOA that mediate allogrooming behavior?

Our proposed research will integrate state-of-the-art techniques for functional manipulation of specific neuronal subpopulations, in vivo imaging of neuronal activity dynamics in awake, freely behaving animals, and functional mapping of neural projections to reveal how specific MPOA neuronal subpopulations respond to conspecific cues and control the display of allogrooming through their downstream projections.

This investigation will yield novel, critical insights into the neural circuitry underlying an evolutionarily conserved, major form of affiliative social behavior. Such insights will impact our understanding of social cohesion and disconnection, such as in individuals experiencing social isolation or neuropsychiatric disorders.

Los Angeles University Of California

THE MISSION OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH (NIMH) IS TO TRANSFORM THE UNDERSTANDING AND TREATMENT OF MENTAL ILLNESSES THROUGH BASIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH, PAVING THE WAY FOR PREVENTION, RECOVERY, AND CURE. WE FULFILL THIS MISSION BY SUPPORTING AND CONDUCTING RESEARCH ON MENTAL ILLNESSES, HEALTH SERVICES, AND THE UNDERLYING BASIC SCIENCE OF THE BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR; SUPPORTING THE TRAINING OF SCIENTISTS TO CARRY OUT BASIC AND CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH; AND COMMUNICATING WITH SCIENTISTS, PATIENTS, PROVIDERS, AND THE PUBLIC ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH ADVANCES AND PRIORITIES. IN MAY 2024, NIMH RELEASED ITS STRATEGIC PLAN FOR RESEARCH. THE STRATEGIC PLAN BUILDS ON THE SUCCESSES OF PREVIOUS NIMH STRATEGIC PLANS BY PROVIDING A FRAMEWORK FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EXPLORATION, AND ADDRESSING NEW CHALLENGES IN MENTAL HEALTH.THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN OUTLINES FOUR HIGH-LEVEL GOALS: GOAL 1: DEFINE THE BRAIN MECHANISMS UNDERLYING COMPLEX BEHAVIORS GOAL 2: EXAMINE MENTAL ILLNESS TRAJECTORIES ACROSS THE LIFESPAN GOAL 3: STRIVE FOR PREVENTION AND CURES GOAL 4: STRENGTHEN THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT OF NIMH-SUPPORTED RESEARCH THESE FOUR GOALS FORM A BROAD ROADMAP FOR THE INSTITUTES RESEARCH PRIORITIES OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, BEGINNING WITH THE FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE OF THE BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, AND EXTENDING THROUGH EVIDENCE-BASED SERVICES THAT IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH OUTCOMES.

93.242 - Mental Health Research Grants

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [HHS - NIH]

Los Angeles, California 900958347 United States

Single Zip Code

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-20-185)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 400% from $687,798 to $3,438,990.