Control of aversive states and underlying neural dynamics by respiratory rhythms

• Applicant: Dr. Alexandra Klein
• Subject Area: Experimental and Theoretical Network Neuroscience ; Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 524908866

An animal’s emotion state is strongly influenced by its bodily state; changes in heart or breathing rates can influence how the brain encodes emotional stimuli and generates adaptive behavior. It is well documented that changes in respiration occur during high anxiety states, and that controlled breathing can have a positive influence on the individual’s mental well-being. However, the underlying neuronal circuits mediating this tight correlation between peripheral and central processes controlling emotion states remain poorly understood. While the brainstem nuclei generating breathing patterns have been well-described, it remains unknown if and how these rhythmic signals are processed in limbic brain regions to modify representations of emotional stimuli and thus behavior. To determine how respiration influences emotional processing, I will first identify how breathing rhythms are correlated with specific behaviors in tests of affective behaviors in mice. Then, using high-density electrophysiology, I will record from a thalamus-amygdala-cortical network that receives input from brainstem breathing centers to determine how respiration impacts representations of emotional stimuli. Finally, I will ask how direct optogenetic pacing of breathing rhythms influences behavior and neural representations of emotional stimuli. These experiments will reveal mechanisms by which breathing orchestrates dynamics in limbic brain regions underlying affective behavior.

• DFG Programme: WBP Fellowship
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Mazen Kheirbek, Ph.D.