10X_genomics_RNA_seq

Fear is a powerful emotion that exerts effects on our behaviour and physiology, and is essential for survival. The ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) shows cFos activation to both predator and social threats, and a recent study by the Gross laboratory has showed that the dorsomedial division of the VHM (VMHdm) is critical for predator fear, while the ventrolateral division (VMHvl) is crucial for social fear. Intriguingly, VMHdm also has a role in feeding and metabolic control, while VMHvl is essential for aggressive and sexual behaviour. This opens the question of whether different cells or the same cells in each of these sub-nuclei of VMH are responsible for each of diverse these behaviors. However, so far no studies have systematically described the cell-types present in these regions. I aim to study the transcriptomics of neurons (both populations and single cell) in the VMHdm and VMHvl in order to understand their cellular diversity and plasticity and, ultimately, how they are able to support diverse innate behaviors. My work would: 1) provide a catalog of cell-types in VMH on which to base further studies, 2) identify gene products that contribute to their functional diversity and plasticity, and 3) understand how experience can modify this diversity to adapt behaviour responses to the environment. This knowledge will be important to understand how the same brain structure can control both fear and aggression and sex, and could be important to understand how these innate behaviors may become intertwined under pathological situations.