# The neural circuits underlying huddling behavior in a group setting

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING · 2022 · $206,011

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Active huddling is a cooperative group behavior that is displayed throughout development and is
thought to serve a variety of functions, including energy conservation, thermoregulation, and
social reward. However, the genetic basis and neural circuity that regulates huddling behavior in
adult mice is not known. Dr. Nelson’s laboratory will investigate the mechanistic basis of adult
huddling behavior on two levels. First, Dr. Nelson has observed that a disruption of group huddling
is caused by mutation of Shank3b—a gene associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in
the human population. His lab will test the hypothesis that this disruption is linked to hypothalamic
neural circuits regulating sleep, social reward, and thermoregulation. The Nelson lab will use
neural activity and circuit mapping to identify huddling-associated circuits, and functional studies
to test the precise role of those circuits on parameters of huddling behavior. Second, while the
neuromodulator oxytocin (OT) has been predicted to play a role in adult group huddling, the
precise role of cell-type specific oxytocinergic circuits on huddling is unknown. The Nelson lab will
use in vivo calcium recordings of hypothalamic OT neurons, along with circuit tracing and
functional manipulations, to identify the relationship between OT neural activity and huddling
according to group size, sex, and Shank3b mutation. This project is expected to establish a new
social behavior paradigm that reveals variation in huddling according to sex and ASD mutation
state, and will elucidate how aspects of huddling are regulated by neural circuits.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10495801
- **Project number:** 2P20GM121310-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
- **Principal Investigator:** Adam Calvin Nelson
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $206,011
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2017-09-01 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10495801

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10495801, The neural circuits underlying huddling behavior in a group setting (2P20GM121310-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10495801. Licensed CC0.

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