Host: Prof. Dongmin Yin, East China Normal University
Abstract
Sociosexual preference is critical for reproduction and survival. However, neural mechanisms encoding social decisions on sex preference remain unclear. Here we show that both male and female mice exhibit female preference but shift to male preference when facing survival threats, which is mediated by the dimorphic changes in the excitability of ventral tegmental area dopaminergic (VTADA) neurons. In males, VTADA projections to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) mediate female preference and those to the medial preoptic area mediate male preference. In females, firing-pattern (phasic-like vs tonic-like) alteration of the VTADA-NAc projection determines sociosexual preferences in females. These findings define VTADA neurons as a key node for social decision-making and reveal the sexually dimorphic DA circuit mechanisms underlying sociosexual preference.
Biography
Wang Changhe, professor and doctoral supervisor of Xi'an Jiaotong University, young Yangtze River scholars, Shaanxi Jieqing, Shaanxi Science and Technology Innovation team leader, Shaanxi Youth, Xi'an Jiaotong University Young Top Talent (Class A) , teacher's ethics model, he was awarded the young biophysicist award, the first prize in Natural Science by the Ministry of Education (the third completer) , the Shaanxi Young Science and Technology Award, and 30 innovative young people in brain science and brain-like intelligence, he served as the director of the Neuroscience Research Center, the leader of the neurobiology discipline, and the chairman of the biology department. He has long been engaged in the study of the regulation mechanism of neurosecretion and synaptic transmission, the circuit mechanism of emotion regulation and behavior decision-making, and the pathological mechanism of dopamine system-related diseases, published 27 papers by corresponding authors in journals such as Science, Nat Neurosci, Nat Commun (3) , PNAS (3) , ADV SCI, J Cell Biol (2) , and applied for/granted 15 invention patents, the research results are recommended and reviewed by Nature, Science, Nat Neurosci, Nat Rev Neurosci, J Cell Biol, Mov Disord, F1000 and so on. He is a director of the Chinese Society of Biophysics, deputy director and secretary-general of the neurobiophysics branch of the Chinese Society of Biophysics, and deputy director of the synaptic plasticity branch of the Chinese Society of Neuroscience, member of ion channel and receptor branch of Chinese Society of Neuroscience, member of nerve cell branch of Chinese society of Cell Biology, member of Aging and Health Professional Committee of Chinese Society of Physiology, member of Youth Committee of Chinese Society of Physiology, he holds more than 10 academic positions in China Society of Gerontology.