Oxytocin, a hormone released by the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), enables neuroplasticity in the auditory cortex for maternal recognition of pup distress. This study continuously monitored the behavior of female virgin mice co-housed with an experienced mother and litter. To examine the behavioral events and neural activity patterns that lead to maternal behavior in virgin female mice,...

This study examined how incorporation of synthetic hippocampal signals is constrained by pre-existing circuit dynamics. The postulated ability for hippocampal circuits to imprint a random, novel pattern was tested in CaMKIIα-Cre::Ai32 mice (N = 5) in which channelrhodopsin2 was expressed in excitatory pyramidal neurons. For the study, μLED silicon probes were implanted in dorsal CA1 to record neural...

This study described robust oxytocinergic modulation of intrinsic properties and circuit operations in hippocampal area CA2. For this study, male mice were used for all experiments to avoid variation in oxytocin receptor (OXTR) expression throughout the estrous cycle of female mice. C57BL/6 mice were used in wild-type experiments, while homozygous Oxt-IRES-Cre and hemizygote Amigo2-Cre mice were used...

Cochlear implant use require neuroplasticity within the central auditory system. Despite extensive studies on how cochlear implants activate the auditory system, understanding of cochlear implant-related neuroplasticity remains unknown. This study investigated behavioral responses and neural activity in locus coeruleus and auditory cortex of deafened rats fitted with multi-channel cochlear implants....

Lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) performs important functions for episodic memory processing and coding for contextually salient elements of an environment or experience. This study combined functional circuit mapping and computational modeling to examine the cellular and circuit mechanisms by which long-range glutamatergic LEC projections influence the local activity in the hippocampus. This dataset...

Fighting is a major means to compete for limited resources in the wild. After the fight ends, the loser continuously avoids close interaction with the winner and readily flees when confronted. The neural mechanisms that underlie the rapid and long-lasting behavioral changes induced by defeat remains unclear. This study identified oxytocin neurons in the retrochiasmatic supraoptic nucleus and oxytocin-receptor-expressing...

This study investigated the subthreshold dynamics using optogenetic depolarizing pulses in hippocampal neuronal assemblies in freely moving mice to understand how excitatory and inhibitory inputs are integrated by neurons. For the study, they recorded and examined large numbers of CA1 pyramidal neurons simultaneously in freely moving CamKIIα-Cre::Ai32 mice. This dataset contains electrophysiology and...

The ventrolateral part of ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl) is an important locus for controlling female sexual behaviors. This study identified the cholecystokinin A receptor (Cckar) expressing cells in the lateral VMHvl (VMHvllCckar) as key controllers for female sexual behaviors. They generated a CckarCre knock-in mouse line to target Cckar expressing cells. In addition, they introduced a highly...

Aggression is an innate social behavior and aggression directed toward a stronger opponent in animals can lead to severe physical damage or even death. Therefore, disadvantageous fights to survive and reproduce need to be avoided. This study identified the projection from estrogen receptor alpha-expressing cells in the caudal part of the medial preoptic area (cMPOAEsr1) to the ventrolateral part of...

GABAergic interneurons (INs) typically project their axons locally to regulate the excitability of nearby pyramidal cells and other INs. Recent studies on INs focused on subtypes distinguished by expression of Parvalbumin, Somatostatin, or Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide. However, a fourth group that includes neurogliaform cells (NGFCs) has been less well characterized due to a lack of genetic tools....