Molecular, Neural, and Developmental Architecture of Social and Sickness Behavior

Catherine Dulac, PhD
Samuel W. Morris University Professor
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Harvard University

Social interactions are essential for animals to survive, reproduce, raise their young. Over the years, Dr. Dulac's lab has attempted to decipher the unique characteristics of social recognition: what are the unique cues that trigger distinct social behaviors, what is the nature and identity of social behavior circuits, how is the function of these circuits different in males and females and how are they modulated by the animal physiological status? In this lecture, she will describe their recent progress in understanding how specific brain circuits and cell types direct adaptive changes in behavior during sickness in mice and how neural populations controlling social and homeostatic behaviors emerge and mature during postnatal development, providing a new framework to understand the development of social and survival behavior circuits in health and disease. 

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This event is free and open to the public, although attendees should keep in mind that the talk will be geared towards a scientific and medical professional audience.