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 described a unique set of deep layer neurons in posterior parietal cortex (PPC) whose spiking activity is inversely correlated with all principal cells and interneurons in all brain states, but most commonly during the down state of non-REM (NREM) sleep. They identified down state-active (DSA) neurons as deep layer neocortical neurogliaform cells that express ID2 and Nkx2.1. For this study,...

This study examined how incorporation of synthetic hippocampal signals is constrained by pre-existing circuit dynamics. For this study, they optogenetically stimulated small groups of CA1 neurons as mice traversed a chosen segment of a linear track, which mimicked the emergence of place fields. Mice were trained to run laps on a linear track to retrieve water reward at each end. Before implantation,...

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...

Place cells receive a disparate collection of excitatory and inhibitory currents that provide them with spatially selective discharges and rhythmic activity. This study combined intracellular and extracellular recordings with computational modeling and optogenetic or chemogenetic manipulations to examine the influence of inhibitory and excitatory inputs on CA1 pyramidal cell responses. For this study,...

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...

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...

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...