The role of the juxtadorsomedial region of the lateral hypothalamus in processing environment cues associated with social defeat

• Grant number: 21/02864-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Effective date (Start): January 01, 2022
• Status: Discontinued
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Anatomy
• Principal Investigator: Simone Cristina Motta
• Grantee: Alisson Pinto de Almeida
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/18667-0 - Manipulating the neural circuit underlying social defense, AP.JP
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/02896-3 - Recording neural circuits: in vivo calcium imaging, BE.EP.DD

Abstract

In social defeat, the environment is a determining variable for the defensive strategy to be developed. The environment is composed of elements such as escape routes, hiding places, distance to the threat and, the presence of physical and/or psychological limits. Understanding how different brain structures processing this information, associating it with other stimuli - such as the type of threat - and defining the defensive response to be developed, is a fundamental step towards a better understanding of the neural bases of social defence. Previous work of our laboratory suggests that, in C57Bl/6 mice, a septo-hippocampal-hypothalamic circuit participates in the processing of spatial context in different aversive situations, such as social and restraint stress, contributing to the organization of defensive behaviour. This route comprises the juxtadorsomedial region of the lateral hypothalamic area (LHAjd) and regions of the septo-hippocampal system, essential for the animal's self-location in an environment. Thus, our objective is to investigate the role of LHAjd in the processing of spatial cues, more specifically the spatial limits, during the social defeat. For this, we will work with tools for mapping neural circuits responsive to specific stimuli, techniques for the functional manipulation of these circuits and methods for monitoring neural activity in freely behaving animals. (AU)