Information

Date:
14th July 2020
Time:
13:00
Location:

LMS Remote Seminar – Johannes Kohl

‘Neural circuitry of parenting’.

Abstract:

Parenting is essential for the survival and wellbeing of offspring in many species, but we lack a circuit-level understanding of how this behaviour is orchestrated. Using viral tracing, in vivo imaging, optogenetic manipulations and behavioural profiling in mice, we recently discovered that a genetically specified class of hypothalamic neurons forms projection-defined subpopulations, each controlling specific aspects of parenting. This functional organisation provides a new model for how discrete elements of a social behaviour are generated at the circuit level. Our current goal is to understand how physiological states (such as pregnancy, hunger and sleep) alter the form and function of this parenting circuit.

 

Dr Johannes Kohl, The Francis Crick Institute