Anita E. Autry, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Neuroscience
(neuroscience category)
Molecular and circuit underpinnings of social behavior
Our laboratory is focused on uncovering and dissecting neural circuits that control social behaviors and understanding how these circuits are regulated under physiological and pathological conditions. Specifically, we study parental behavior which is essential for the health and survival of offspring, as well as infant-directed aggression and other behaviors associated with parenting. The research questions center around (1) how stress affects the function of circuits controlling parental behaviors (2) how circuits that mediate stress responses interact over time and (3) how stress circuits impact feeding behavior and body composition, particularly in lactating females.
Selected Publications
Kohl, J., Babayan, B. M., Rubinstein, N.D., Autry, A. E., Marin-Rodriguez, B., Kapoor, V., Miyamaishi, K., Zweifel, L. S., Luo, L., Uchida, N., Dulac, C. (2018). Functional circuit architecture underlying parental behavior. Nature. 556 (7701) 326–331.
Kohl, J.K.*, Autry A.E.*, Dulac, C. (2017). The Neurobiology of Parenting: A Neural Circuit Perspective. Bioessays, 39(1) 1–11.
Adachi, M.*, Autry, A.E.*, Maghoub, M., Suzuki, K., Monteggia, L.M. (2017). TrkB Signaling in Dorsal Raphe Nucleus is Essential for Antidepressant Efficacy and Normal Aggression Behavior. Neuropsychopharmacology, 42(4) 886–894.
Autry, A.E. (2016). Neurobiology of Chronic Social Defeat Stress: Role of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Signaling in the Nucleus Accumbens. Biological Psychiatry, 80(6) 39–40.
Morris, M.J., Na, E.S., Autry, A.E., Monteggia, L.M. (2016). Impact of DNMT1 and DNMT3a forebrain knockout on depressive- and anxiety like behavior in mice. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 135; 139–145.
Renier, N., Adams, E., Kirst, C., Wu, Z., Azevedo, R., Kohl, J., Autry, A.E., Kadiri, L., Venkataraju, K.U., Zhou, Y., Wang, V.X., Tang, C.Y., Olsen, O., Dulac, C., Osten, P., Tessier-Lavigne, M. (2016). Mapping of brain activity by automated volume analysis of immediate early genes. Cell, 165 (7) 1–14.
Wu, Z., Autry, A.E., Bergan, J.F., Watabe-Uchida, M., Dulac, C.G. (2014). Galanin neurons in the medial preoptic area govern parental behavior. Nature, 509 (7500) 325–330.
Nosyreva, E., Autry, A.E., Kavalali, E.T., Monteggia, L.M. (2014). Age dependence of the rapid antidepressant and synaptic effects of acute NMDA receptor blockade. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 94; 1–7.
Nosyreva, E., Szabla, K., Autry, A.E., Ryazanov, A.G., Monteggia, L.M., Kavalali, E.T. (2013). Acute suppression of spontaneous neurotransmission drives synaptic potentiation. Journal of Neuroscience, 33(16) 6990–7002.
Benekareddy, M., Nair, A.R., Dias, B.G., Suri, D., Autry, A.E., Monteggia, L.M., Vaidya, V.A. (2013). Induction of the plasticity-associated immediate early gene Arc by stress and hallucinogens: role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 16(2) 405-15.