# Physiological identification and characterization of PVN neuronal populations

> **NIH NIH U19** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $430,917

## Abstract

Project Summary (Project 2 Co-PIs: Buzsaki, Froemke, Lin, Tsien)
The overarching goal of our proposal is to understand how oxytocin signaling engages brain systems to support
socio-spatial behavior. A central question is how oxytocin release from hypothalamic neurons affects neuronal
activity in target structures and conversely, how these coordinating neurons are embedded and controlled by
other neuronal circuits. Toward this goal, the aims of Project 2 is to quantify the firing patterns of oxytocin-
releasing PVN neurons under physiological conditions and their relationship with state-dependent firing patterns
in partner structures, particularly the hippocampus. These experiments are guided by our overall hypothesis that
brain structures involved in various aspects of a maternal behavior, including pup retrieval and
defensive/aggressive mechanisms, form an interactive system that includes the PVN and VMH nuclei of the
hypothalamus.
 The first task of Project 2 is it to would out methods to obtain physiological signatures of oxytocin-
producing PVN neurons. This will be accomplished by collecting large number of waveform, firing rate dynamics,
neuronal interaction and other criteria of the various PVN neurons and verify the classification with a novel,
localized light-source optogenetic method. The criteria obtain under this aim will be used in subsequent
experiments to identify oxytocin neurons. The next goal is to establish large-scale and highly resilient long-term
recordings from the same sets of neurons for repeated social interactions, including violent attacks. We
recognize that oxytocin-PVN neurons also release fast neurotransmitters. Therefore, an important goal will be to
characterized their firing patterns not only social interactions (Projects 1 and 4) but also in various brain states
and in relationship to population patterns, such as the hippocampus. These physiological measurements will be
complemented by fiber photometry to measure the overall Ca2+ signal of PVN oxytocin neurons during different
behavioral states. Conversely, we will extend the correlational methods with optogenetic induction of synthetic
physiological patterns (`ripples') in the hippocampus to examine whether and how PVN and VMH neurons can
be influenced by direct or indirect (hippocampus-lateral septum) pathways.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10220157
- **Project number:** 5U19NS107616-04
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** GYORGY BUZSAKI
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $430,917
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10220157

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10220157, Physiological identification and characterization of PVN neuronal populations (5U19NS107616-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10220157. Licensed CC0.

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