Project description DEENESFRITPL Looking at the brain to understand social behaviours Essential for survival, all sexually reproducing species exhibit social behaviours that include affiliative and antagonistic interactions. These are characterised by high levels of complexity of communication through multiple sensory modalities. For instance, humans and other animals living in groups continuously select appropriate behavioural responses upon exposure to conspecifics. The EU-funded SocialNAc project will explore the role of the nucleus accumbens (NAc), which is a key region of the mesocorticolimbic circuits for evaluating appetitive and aversive information. Also known as the ‘pleasure centre’, it plays a central role in the reward circuit. Specifically, the project will use in vivo and ex vivo recordings and circuit-specific optogenetic manipulations in specific social interaction conditions. The project will check how NAc integrates information about conspecifics and how it incorporates learned associations to initiate conspecific approach or avoidance. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Social behavior is defined as any modality of communication and interaction between two or more conspecifics. These behaviors, which include affiliative and antagonistic interactions, are exhibited by all sexually reproducing species, they are characterized by high-level complexity of communication through multiple sensory modalities and they are essential for survival. Humans and other animals living in groups continuously experience situations in which they need to select appropriate behavioral responses upon exposure to conspecifics. At the very basis of this social behavior, an individual needs to decide for example whether to approach (positive or appetitive) or avoid (negative or aversive) other individuals. Here, using mice, we will investigate the brain circuits and synaptic mechanisms involved in conspecific approach and avoidance behavior. The Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) is a key region of the mesocorticolimbic circuits for evaluating appetitive and aversive information. Recent studies have revealed the importance of NAc in social behavior, but which neurons within this structure are relevant and how they contribute to conspecific interaction is largely unknown. We hypothesize that different populations of neurons within the NAc orchestrate and integrate different types of socially relevant information to initiate the appropriate behavioral response. Using in vivo and ex vivo recordings and circuit-specific optogenetic manipulations in specific social interaction conditions, we will investigate how the NAc integrates information about conspecifics and how it incorporates learned associations to initiate conspecific approach or avoidance. This study will thus identify and functionally characterize the circuit and synaptic mechanisms controlling socially appetitive and aversive stimuli, and hence pave the way for a causal understanding of the processes underlying disruption of complex social behaviors in psychiatric disorders. Fields of science medical and health sciencesclinical medicinepsychiatry Keywords Social interactions Synaptic plasticity Nucleus Accumbens Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2019-COG - ERC Consolidator Grant Call for proposal ERC-2019-COG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant Coordinator UNIVERSITE DE GENEVE Net EU contribution € 1 996 424,00 Address Rue du general dufour 24 1211 Geneve Switzerland See on map Region Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Région lémanique Genève Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all UNIVERSITE DE GENEVE Switzerland Net EU contribution € 1 996 424,00 Address Rue du general dufour 24 1211 Geneve See on map Region Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Région lémanique Genève Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
