General

Ninglong Xu, Ph.D.

Senior Investigator

Institute of Neuroscience

Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology

Chinese Academy of Sciences

320 Yueyang Road, Shanghai, 200031, P.R.China

Email: xunl@ion.ac.cn

Office Phone: +86-21-54921866

Lab website


Research Areas

  1. Cortical circuit mechanism underlying auditory perception

  2. Neural circuit mechanism underlying decision-making

  3. Dendritic computations in decision-making behavior


Education

Ph.D.,  Neurobiology, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China, 2006

​B.S.,  Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China 1999.  


Experience

• Principal Investigator and Lab Head, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai  (2013 ~ ). 

• Research Specialist, Howard Hughes Medical Ins$tute, Janelia Farm Research Campus  (2011 ~  2013).   

• Postdoctoral Associate, Howard Hughes Medical Ins$tute, Janelia Farm Research  Campus (2008 ~ 2011).  

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (2006 ~ 2008)


Publications

  1. Tang, S.#, Cui, L.#, Pan , J., Xu, N.* (2024) Dynamic ensemble balance in direct- and indirect-pathway striatal projection neurons underlying decision-related action selection. Cell Rep. 43: 114726.
  2. Cui, L.#, Tang, S.#, Pan, J., Deng, L., Zhang, Z., Zhao, K., Si, B.,Xu, N.* (2024) Causal contributions of cell-type-specific circuits in the posterior dorsal striatum to auditory decision-making. Cell Rep. 44: 115084.
  3. Xu, N.* (2024) How the brain’s primary processing units compute to give rise to intelligence. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 25: 288.
  4. Zhang, N.*, Xu, N.* (2022) Reshaping sensory representations by task-specific brain states: toward cortical circuit mechanisms. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. 77: 102628.
  5. Gao, L.#, Liu, S.#, Gou, L.#, Hu, Y.#, Liu, Y., Deng, L., Ma, D., Wang, H., Yang, Q., Chen, Z., Liu, D., Qiu, S., Wang, X., Wang, D., Wang, X., Ren, B., Liu, Q., Chen, T., Shi, X., Yao, H., Xu, C., Li, C., Sun, Y., Li, A., Luo, Q., Gong, H.*, Xu, N.*, & Yan, J.* (2022) Single-neuron projectome of mouse prefrontal cortex. Nat. Neurosci. 25: 515-529.
  6. Chen, X., Liu, Y., Xu, N.*, Sun, Y.* (2021) Multiplexed representation of itch and mechanical and thermal sensation in the primary somatosensory cortex. J. Neurosci. 41(50): 10330-10340.
  7. Duan, C.#*, Pan, Y.#, Ma, G., Zhou,T., Zhang, S., Xu, N.* (2021) A cortico-collicular pathway for motor planning in a memory-dependent perceptual decision task. Nat. Commun. 12: 2727
  8. Liu, Y., Xin, Y., Xu, N.* (2021) A cortical circuit mechanism for structural knowledge-based flexible sensorimotor decision-making. Neuron 109: 1-16
  9. Xu, N. (2020) Deciphering Pyramidal Neuron Diversity: Delineating Perceptual Functions of Projection-Defined Neuronal Types. Neuron (Preview) 105: 209-211
  10. Xin, Y., Zhong, L., Zhang, Y., Zhou, T., Pan, J., Xu, N.* (2019) Sensory-to-category transformation via dynamic reorganization of ensemble structures in mouse auditory cortex. Neuron 103: 909-921
  11. Zhong, L.#, Zhang, Y.#, Duan, C., Deng, J., Pan, J., Xu, N.* (2019) Causal contributions of parietal cortex to perceptual decision-making during stimulus categorization. Nat. Neurosci. 22: 963–973
  12. Ranganathan, G., Apostolides, P., Harnett, M., Xu, N., Druckmann, S., Magee, J.* (2018) Active dendritic integration and mixed neocortical network representations during an adaptive sensing behavior. Nat. Neurosci. 21: 1583-1590
  13. Neuron 79: 516-529
  14. Xu, N., Harnett, M., O'Connor, D., Huber, D., Williams, S., Svoboda, K., Magee, J.* (2012) Nonlinear dendritic integration of sensory and motor input during an active sensing task. Nature 492: 247-251
  15. Xu, N., Ye, C., Poo, M.*, Zhang, X.* (2006) Coincidence detection of synaptic inputs is facilitated at the distal dendrites after long-term potentiation induction. J. Neurosci. 26: 3002-3009

Research Interests

      The goal of our research is to understand how the architectures and functional operations of neuronal circuits  in the mammalian brain mediate fundamental cognitive functions including percept formation and decision-making. We combine inovative recording and manipulation methods including in vivo two-photon imaging and optogenetics with rigorous and novel behavioral task design to address the following fundamental questions: 
  1. How does the interaction between higher order cortex and sensory cortex support perceptual categorization? We focus on the impact of long-distance top-down projections on local circuit computation in the sensory cortex. 
  2. How is perception linked to decision to guide behavior in a flexible and adaptive way? We focus on association cortices including posterior parietal cortex and prefrontal cortex and their interaction with other cortical and subcortical regions during decision-making. 
  3. How does the brain select motor plans? We focus on the higher motor cortices and its interaction with subcortical regions including the basal ganglia, superior colliculus and thalamus. 

Answers to these questions will substantially advance our understanding at the neuronal circuit level how our conscious perception and intelligence arise. 


Students

已指导学生

辛宇  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

崔乐乐  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

柴睿明  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

钟林  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

张园  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

刘彦和  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

邓吉  硕士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

唐顺航  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

周建祥  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

潘宇昕  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

胡亚闯  博士研究生  0710Z2-计算生物学  

刘琪  硕士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

夏显霖  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

刘浩榕  硕士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

现指导学生

杜洁  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

何佳凝  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

石卉  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

高迎港  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

罗子安  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

王若晴  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

赵嘉盈  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

纪馨雨  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

叶黄河  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

李子顺  硕士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

李中浩  博士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

彭宇轩  硕士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

许力丹  硕士研究生  071006-神经生物学  

孙徐安  硕士研究生  071006-神经生物学