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CANCELLED - Neurodevelopment of Social and Emotional BehaviorsNIH Only

Air date: Thursday, January 23, 2025, 3:00:00 PM
Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local
Description: My research focuses on the neurodevelopmental basis of social and emotional behaviors, which are crucial for our day today interactions and well-being. Specifically, the ventrolateral cortical structures (VLC) including the amygdala, claustrum and insular cortex integrate social and emotional information, with excitatory neurons developing complex circuits that connect to association cortical areas like the prefrontal cortex (PFC). These VLC-PFC circuits mature through adolescence, coinciding with the emergence of many neuropsychiatric disorders, making them vulnerable to genetic and environmental stressors. Despite their importance, the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving the development and connectivity of these VLC structures are poorly understood. We have identified a transcription factor, TFAP2D that is uniquely expressed by VLC ExNs including the amygdala, claustrum and insular cortex in the humans, macaques, and mice. Alongside SOX4 and SOX11, TFAP2D serves as a key node of the gene regulatory network essential for the development of VLC structures. We demonstrate that SOX4 and SOX11 regulate Tfap2d expression via the E2 enhancer, affecting VLC ExNs specification, migration, and survival. Additionally, research indicates that Tfap2d influences the development of amygdala and PFC circuits postnatally in a dose-dependent manner. Both complete loss and haploinsufficiency of Tfap2d lead to similar behavioral alterations due to the essential role of Tfap2d in regulating the development and connectivity of the amygdala with PFC, underscoring the dosage-sensitive nature of these circuits' dependent on Tfap2d. This suggests that different mutations can cause distinct anatomical changes but result in the same behavioral outcomes. Leveraging the findings and tools of this study, in future, my research program would investigate the genetic and environmental processes guiding the VLC cell type diversification, neuronal circuit assembly, and their roles in socio-emotional behaviors.
Author: Navjot Kaur, Ph.D.
Runtime: 1 hour