Descripción del proyecto
La actividad encefálica durante las interacciones sociales
Las especies sociales como los humanos y otros primates perciben e interpretan diversas señales ambientales y sociales que les permiten tomar las decisiones necesarias. Sin embargo, se sabe poco sobre los mecanismos subyacentes a estos procesos y cómo el encéfalo activa estas representaciones internas. El proyecto AMYGDALA-ELECTROPHYS, financiado con fondos europeos, llevará a cabo grabaciones neuronales en ratas para investigar la actividad en el grupo basolateral de la amígdala durante la interacción social. Al decodificar esta actividad, los investigadores determinarán y comprenderán los factores (como el género y la edad) que impulsan los cálculos neuronales en el grupo basolateral de la amígdala y, por lo tanto, el comportamiento social.
Objetivo
The accurate perception and interpretation of social stimuli is crucial for survival in social species including rodents, primates and humans. Before deciding whether to mate, fight or avoid, an animal must process multisensory cues to activate an internal representation of the social environment that answers key questions (Sex? Age? Friend? Foe? Previously encountered?). Little is known about how the brain develops and activates this representation. We will focus on the role of neuronal firing in the basolateral amygdala complex (BLA) in processing and integrating social cues.
In the first stage of this research, we will use neuropixel silicon probes to conduct large-scale recordings of the BLA in rats during social interaction with conspecifics (juvenile rats, male rats and female rats). We can record from large populations of neurons across weeks in freely-moving rats during social interaction. Second, by analysing the activity of single neurons in the BLA, we can characterize the specificity and responsivity of single neurons to social interaction and understand the mitigating factors (gender of conspecific, sexual receptivity, age, previous history). Third, we can decode the population activity of the BLA during social activity to understand how BLA connectivity changes during social interaction and with experience. Finally, we will use optical tagging of anatomically-defined ensembles of BLA neurons to understand how BLA projections code for specific properties of social activity. Success in this project will provide an understanding of how neural computation occurs within the BLA.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EFCoordinador
WC1E 6BT London
Reino Unido