Project description
A closer look at social communication in primates
Primate social interactions are based on visual and acoustic signals, but we still do not know how social contexts influence the production and interpretation of these signals. The brain mechanisms behind this process are not fully understood, especially in complex social settings. Understanding these dynamics is key to unravelling the mysteries of the primate social brain. In this context, the ERC-funded MarmOTChat project aims to explore how oxytocin (OT), a neurohormone linked to social behavior, affects vocal communication in marmoset monkeys. By studying these primates in natural group settings, the project will use advanced techniques to examine how OT shapes brain activity and social behaviour, providing new insights into primate communication.
Objective
Primate social interactions rely heavily on visual and acoustic signalling. Yet little remains known about how social context affects how vocalisations are perceived and produced, and the neural mechanisms that support this this process. Given the complex dynamics that typify primate societies, addressing such questions remains of critical importance to elucidating the mysteries of the primate social brain.
I hypothesize that oxytocin (OT), a neurohormone that regulates social behaviour and a promising therapeutic target for psychiatric disorders, influences context-dependent effects on primate vocal communication, notably by acting in higher order brain regions involved in vocalisations and encoding social information.
I propose to explore the neural basis of socially adapted acoustic communication. To do so, I will record vocalisations from marmoset monkeys, a highly vocal primate and promising model for neuroscience, in different social contexts designed to elicit positively or negatively valenced calls between differently affiliated monkeys. Importantly, these experiments will happen in semi-natural conditions, focusing on freely moving animals expressing their normal behaviours within the colony. This is a highly novel approach that starkly contrasts with classical task-based experiments.
Additionally, using modern tools including high throughput neurophysiology, chemogenetics and intravenous viruses, I will manipulate OT neurons activity while recording from hundreds of neurons. This will enable analyses focusing on neural populations instead of single units, all wireless and without interfering with the animals behaviours.
This multidisciplinary approach will allow me to uncover some fundamental aspects of how the primate brain encodes natural conversations and adapts its response accordingly to the social context. Moreover, I will for the first time study how endogenous OT controls social behaviours in primates.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy primatology
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- natural sciences physical sciences acoustics
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-STG
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75794 PARIS
France
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