NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Dopamine Modulation of Caregiver Recognition and Affiliation

Butler, Julie M, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2021, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Infants rely on their caregivers for their basic needs, with caregiver-infant bonds having lifelong impacts on health and wellbeing. Despite this, little is known about how this bond develops in the youngest members of society. Using Mimetic poison frogs and their tadpoles, this work will study how tadpoles recognize caregivers and communicate their needs. Mimetic poison frog tadpoles beg for food from their parents, but begging to the wrong individual is energetically costly and can increase the risk of predation. Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that signals reward, or goodness, of something like an individual or action. This work will study the role of dopamine in tadpole interactions with potential caregivers, with the goal of identifying a pathway in the brain that allows for caregiver recognition and bonding. The project will provide some of the first evidence of how the neonate brain functions during social interactions, specifically focusing on the crucial early interactions with caregivers that can shape how an individual communicates and interacts with others throughout their life. This project will provide invaluable insights into the biological rules governing caregiver recognition in the neonate brain. Using pharmacology and genetic manipulations of dopamine signaling, the fellow will test the hypothesis that increased dopamine signaling facilitates caregiver recognition and bonding, leading to increased affiliative begging behaviors. Next, this work will use chemogenetics to manipulate activity of motor neurons in the accessory motor nucleus to functionally test their role in begging behavior output. Because olfactory cues underlie caregiver recognition, neural tracing techniques will be used to map the circuitry between the olfactory bulbs, dopaminergic neurons, and motor neurons. The fellow will gain professional development in mentoring, teaching, grant-writing, and data management through lab activities and courses offered through Stanford’s Office of Postdoc Affairs. As part of this project, the fellow will create a children’s book loosely based on their research, including tadpole recognition of caregivers. Technical and professional development experiences through this fellowship will allow the fellow to successfully transition into an academic career as an independent principal investigator. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.