# Imaging Dynamics in Anxiogenic Serotonin Circuitry

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2022 · $74,802

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Serotonin has been long been recognized as an important modulator of mood and behavior, yet it projection-
specific dynamics are little understood. While serotonin has been well studied in anxiolytic contexts, activity of
certain serotonin projections works to increase stress behaviors. In particular, serotonergic projections from
dorsal raphe to the anterodorsal bed nucleus of the stria terminalis have been shown to be anxiogenic. Despite
decades of targeting serotonin, a consensus on serotonin function and release dynamic is lacking.
Pharmacological approaches, microdialysis, and chemogenetic manipulations have produced key insights, but
none provide millisecond resolution for serotonin release and correlates of specific reactions and behaviors
until recently. The Tian lab is in the final stages of developing two serotonin specific biosensors (sLight and
iSeroSnFR) that open the door for new possibilities in serotonin research. I will these sensors combined with
fiber-photometry to optically measure behaviorally driven serotonin release in an anxiogenic serotonin circuit
with high temporal and spatial resolution.
The series of experiments outlined in this proposal are significant because they will: Aim 1) rigorously
demonstrate the in vivo utility of serotonin sensors in dissecting anxiety circuit, providing end users important
protocols and guidelines for fast technological implementation; Aim2) map dynamics of serotonin release in
anxiogenic circuits to stress behavior, and discover how activity in this circuit is impacted in anxious animals
and determine the mechanistic impacts of acute vs. chronic SSRI administration on anxiogenic serotonin
signaling; Aim 3) determine the developmental effects of pubertal testosterone on the maturation of anxiogenic
serotonin activity and SSRI efficacy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10464898
- **Project number:** 5F32MH125597-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Emily Clarissa Wright
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $74,802
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2023-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10464898

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10464898, Imaging Dynamics in Anxiogenic Serotonin Circuitry (5F32MH125597-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10464898. Licensed CC0.

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