医学创新论坛第17期

Time: 3:00 PM, March 14, 2024 (Thursday)

Location: Room 1322, North Tower, Basic Research Building, Capital Medical University (首都医科大学基础科研楼北楼1322会议室)

Title: Sexually Dimorphic Control of Affective State Processing and Empathic Behaviors

Abstract: Recognizing the affective states of social counterparts and responding appropriately fosters successful social interactions. However, little is known about how the affective states are expressed, perceived, and influence social decisions. We found that male and female mice emit distinct olfactory cues after experiencing distress. These cues activate distinct neural circuits in the piriform cortex (PiC) and evoke sexually dimorphic empathic behaviors in observers. Specifically, the PiC→PrL pathway is activated in female observers, inducing a social preference for the distressed counterpart. Conversely, the PiC→MeA pathway is activated in male observers, evoking excessive self-grooming behaviors. These pathways originate from non-overlapping PiC neuron populations with distinct gene expression signatures regulated by transcription factors and sex hormones. Our study unveils how internal states of social counterparts are processed through sexually dimorphic mechanisms at the molecular, cellular, and circuit levels, and offers insights into the neural mechanisms underpinning sex differences in higher brain functions.

Selected publications:

1. Fang S, Luo Z, Wei Z, Qin Y, Zheng J, Zhang H, Jin J, Li J, Miao C, Yang S, Li Y, Liang Z, Yu XD, Zhang XM, Xiong W, Zhu H, Gan WB, Huang L, Li B. Sexually dimorphic control of affective state processing and empathic behaviors. Neuron. 2024 Mar 1:S0896-6273(24)00085-0
2. Li B, Suutari BS, Sun SD, Luo Z, Wei C, Chenouard N, Mandelberg NJ, Zhang G, Wamsley B, Tian G, Sanchez S, You S, Huang L, Neubert TA, Fishell G, Tsien RW. Neuronal Inactivity Co-opts LTP Machinery to Drive Potassium Channel Splicing and Homeostatic Spike Widening. Cell. 2020 Jun 25;181(7):1547-1565.e15
3. Li B, Tadross MR, Tsien RW. Sequential ionic and conformational signaling by calcium channels drives neuronal gene expression. Science. 2016 Feb 19;351(6275):863-7

个人简历：

李勃兴博士，中山大学中山医学院教授，博士生导师；优青、“珠江人才计划”科技创新领军人才，中国神经科学学会常务理事、学术委员会秘书长。

李勃兴教授本科毕业于原第一军医大学临床医学专业，后师从高天明教授获得神经生物学硕士及博士学位。2012年至2017年在美国纽约大学Richard W. Tsien教授实验室完成博士后培训。

李勃兴教授课题组致力于揭示认知和情感等高级神经功能的编码机制，并探索孤独症等神经/精神疾病的分子机制。研究方向包括：1）离子通道及下游信号通路在认知功能中的作用；2）孤独症及认知功能障碍的神经机制；3）神经科学新技术开发。研究成果以通讯或第一作者发表于Cell、Science、Neuron、Nature Neuroscience等杂志。