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Neurobiology of Social Behavior: Circuit Analysis in Early Life

Award Number: R00MH124434
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 12/01/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 11/30/2024

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Neurobiology of Social Behavior: Circuit Analysis in Early Life - Project Summary My long-termcareer goal is to establish a research laboratory that dissects functional microcircuits supporting flexible social behavior in typical and perturbed development. The lab will integrate state-of-the-art techniques into a large toolkit of convergent methodologies to assess how neural networks exhibit plasticity to support adaptive behavior in early life. To effectively lead this future research team, I require additional professional development and training in techniques for measuring and manipulating neural function in behaving infants. My training to date has provided me with a strong foundation of skills in rodent developmental neurobiology, stress, electrophysiology, optogenetics and ex vivo imaging techniques and a broad theoretical approach. My career development plan expands on this skill set with professional development activities and training in fiber photometry and the use of microdrives to assess neural circuit dynamics during behavior. By engaging in this protected training time, I will enter my independent stage of research well-prepared to lead a research team established to uncover the plasticity of neural circuits supporting social behavior. Research Project: For many species, access to resources requiresa highly flexible system of social behavior that is sensitive to environmental demands. Indeed, inflexible social behavior can be highly maladaptive, particularly during developmental transitions when social demands are in constant flux. Yet, the neural substrates supporting flexible social behavior during development have been underexplored. The literature and pilot data collected for this proposal leads me to advance the central hypothesis that the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and its dopaminergic (DA) control are late-developing components of the social behavior circuit and their recruitment permits behavioral flexibility to transition a system biasing social approach within the nest into one favoring more inhibited approach as infants gain independence and enter the complex socia l world. Specifically, the goal of this BRAIN K99-R00 Award is to apply advanced optical and electrophysiological techniques in infant rats to directly test this hypothesis in three specific aims. Aim 1 will be performed during the mentored phase (K99) and is to determine when in development social approach becomes inhibited and how this is controlled by the BLA. Aim 2, initiated during the mentored phase (K99) and completed duringthe independent phase (R00), is to determine the role of VTA DA release into the BLA in social approach inhibition using convergent approaches to manipulate and measure DA levels in the BLA. Aim 3, performed during the independent phase (R00), will examine the relationship between long-range VTA-BLA synchrony and social approach by optogenetically manipulating DA neurons in the VTA of rats performing a social behavior task while recording spike -LFP synchrony in the VTA and the BLA. Lack of understanding of the developmental neurobiology underlying social behavior disorders impedes our search for effective therapies. By integrating advanced functional techniques into the study of complex infant behavior, the proposed work will advance the field both technically and conceptually.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $285,609 )
2024	2024	HUGO W. MOSER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT KENNEDY KRIEGER, INC.	707 N BROADWAY	BALTIMORE	MD	21205	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	5	11/8/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$224,098
2024	2024	HUGO W. MOSER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT KENNEDY KRIEGER, INC.	707 N BROADWAY	BALTIMORE	MD	21205	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	002	5	2/8/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2024	2024	HUGO W. MOSER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT KENNEDY KRIEGER, INC.	707 N BROADWAY	BALTIMORE	MD	21205	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	5	11/9/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$61,511
2024	2024	HUGO W. MOSER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT KENNEDY KRIEGER, INC.	707 N BROADWAY	BALTIMORE	MD	21205	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	003	5	8/15/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$24,900
2024	2024	HUGO W. MOSER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT KENNEDY KRIEGER, INC.	707 N BROADWAY	BALTIMORE	MD	21205	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	004	5	8/16/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$24,900
														Subtotal = $285,609

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $368,437 )
2023	2023	HUGO W. MOSER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT KENNEDY KRIEGER, INC.	707 N BROADWAY	BALTIMORE	MD	21205	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	003	4	3/1/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$24,900
2023	2023	HUGO W. MOSER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT KENNEDY KRIEGER, INC.	707 N BROADWAY	BALTIMORE	MD	21205	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	002	4	12/22/2022	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$119,438
2023	2023	HUGO W. MOSER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT KENNEDY KRIEGER, INC.	707 N BROADWAY	BALTIMORE	MD	21205	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	4	12/21/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$224,099
2023	2022	HUGO W. MOSER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT KENNEDY KRIEGER, INC.	707 N BROADWAY	BALTIMORE	MD	21205	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	12/20/2022	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$0
														Subtotal = $368,437

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $388,764 )
2022	2022	HUGO W. MOSER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT KENNEDY KRIEGER, INC.	707 N BROADWAY	BALTIMORE	MD	21205	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	002	3	8/17/2022	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$81,784
2022	2022	HUGO W. MOSER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT KENNEDY KRIEGER, INC.	707 N BROADWAY	BALTIMORE	MD	21205	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	3	7/19/2022	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$57,980
2022	2022	HUGO W. MOSER RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT KENNEDY KRIEGER, INC.	707 N BROADWAY	BALTIMORE	MD	21205	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	11/15/2021	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$249,000
														Subtotal = $388,764

Grand Total All Awards = $1,042,810

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Neurobiology of Social Behavior: Circuit Analysis in Early Life

Award Number: R00MH124434

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 12/01/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 11/30/2024

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