Neurobiology of Kinship Behavior

Host

Inês Dias & Ana Rita Mendes, PhD, Neuroethology Lab

Venue

Seminar room

Abstract

The natural social environment of rodents is most often the kinship group. Rodents bond with kin and develop independence within a few weeks of development. The Kinship lab is interested in understanding the biology underlying natural social interactions between the parent and offspring as well as between siblings. Furthermore, we examine multisensory interactions throughout the pre-weaning developmental period to understand how bonds of kinship transition to independence. Our primary research subject is rats; however, we are recently branching out to other rodent species with unique developmental profiles. By examining natural variation of rodent species, we aim to gain a deeper understanding of the neurobiology underlying the development of social behaviour. 

Biography

Dr. Ann Clemens pursued her baccalaureate studies at the University of Texas at Austin and postbaccalaureate research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. She returned to Austin to pursue her PhD in the laboratory of Dr Daniel Johnston, where she examined intrinsic plasticity in neurons of the hippocampus. Upon completion of her PhD, Ann moved to Berlin, Germany where she performed a postdoc in the lab of Michael Brecht. Her postdoctoral research focused on uncovering the cellular mechanisms of social-sensory processing from a structure-function perspective. Since 2016, Ann has co-led the Somatosensory/ Rat module of the Neural Systems and Behaviour Course and was a pandemic Grass Fellow in 2020 at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. Ann is now principal investigator of the Kinship Lab at the University of Edinburgh, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain. The research of Kinship Lab aims to understand the neurobiology and development of natural social behavior. 

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About CR Colloquia Series

Champalimaud Research (CR) Colloquia Series is a seminar programme organised by the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown to promote the discussion about the most interesting and significant questions in neuroscience and physiology & cancer with appointed speakers by the CR Community.