Uncovering the sex-specific neural mechanisms underlying defensive behaviors
Based on the phenomena analyzed by our research group—defensive behaviors induced by visual survival threats exhibit sex differences—we aim to address the underlying neural circuit mechanisms. The defensive abilities triggered by visual survival threats are stored in conserved subcortical structures, and this evolutionarily conserved behavior is highly likely regulated by similarly conserved neuromodulatory systems. Therefore, we: ① characterized the expression profile of cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) in the nervous system (Li XL et al., 2023. Journal of Comparative Neurology; Zhang YL et al., 2022. Journal of Comparative Neurology; Liu X et al., 2020. Journal of Comparative Neurology); ② mapped the input-output circuitry of subcortical circuits (Huang et al., 2024, Biological of Sex Differences; Liu et al., 2022 a,b. Neuroscience Bulletin); ③analyzed the neural mechanisms by which sex-differentiated regulation of CB1R mediates subcortical circuit responses to visual survival threat-induced defensive behaviors (unpublished).