Animals have numerous behaviors, which are controlled or modulated by the activities of neural circuits. Mechanistic understanding of animal behavior at the circuitry level is one of the ultimate challenges of Systems Neuroscience.  By combinatory use of techniques including multichannel recording, transgene, optogenetic / chemogenetic manipulation, single cell electrophysiology and behavioral study, we are investigating the relationship between the activities of neural circuits and several types of behaviors of Rat / Mouse. The research in our lab is aimed to illustrate the neural mechanism underlying certain mammalian behaviors at the level of neural circuit.

1997-2002               Ph.D. in Biochemistry

                                 Rutgers--the State University of New Jersey

                                 New Brunswick/Piscataway, New Jersey, USA

1994-1997               M.S. in Biochemistry

                                 Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry

                                 Chinese Academy of Science

                                 Shanghai, China

1990-1994               B.S. in Biochemistry

                                 East China University of Science and Technology

                                 Shanghai, China

2014--                      Deputy Director and Senior Investigator

                                 Institute of Neuroscience

                                 Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai, China

2005-2014                Principle Investigator

                                 Institute of Neuroscience

                                 Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai, China

2003-2005               Post-doctoral Associate    Advisor：Kristin Scott

                                 Department of Molecular and Cell Biology

                                 University of California at Berkeley, CA, USA

2002-2003               Post-doctoral Associate    Advisor：Mu-ming Poo

                                 Department of Molecular and Cell Biology

                                 University of California at Berkeley, CA, USA

1.        Wu, D., Deng, H., Xiao, X., Zuo, Y., Sun, J. & Wang, Z. (2017) Persistent neuronal activity in anterior cingulate cortex correlates with sustained attention in rats regardless of sensory modality. Sci. Rep. 7:43101.

2.        Deng, H., Xiao, X., and Wang Z.(2016) Periaqueductal gray neuronal activities underlie different aspects of defensive behaviors. J. Neurosci. 36: 7580-7588.

3.        Guo, Y., Wang, Y., Zhang, W., Meltzer, S., Zanini, D., Yu, Y., Li, J., Cheng, T., Guo, Z., Wang, Q., Jacobs, J., Sharma, Y., Eberl, D., Göpfert, M., Jan, L., Jan, Y.*, and Wang, Z*. (2016) Transmembrane channel-like (tmc) gene regulates Drosophila larval locomotion. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA.113: 7243-7248.

4.        4.Xiao, X., Deng, H., Wei, L., Huang, Y., and Wang, Z. (2016) Neural activity of orbitofrontal cortex contributes to control of waiting. Eur. J. Neurosci. 44:2300-2313.

5.        Guo, Y., Wang, Y., Wang, Q., and Wang, Z.(2014) The role of PPK26 in Drosophila larval mechanical nociception. Cell Rep. 9:1183-1190..

6.        Wang, K., Gong, J., Wang, Q., Li, H., Cheng, Q., Liu, Y., Zeng, S., and Wang, Z. (2014) Parallel pathways convey olfactory information with opposite polarities in Drosophila. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA.  111(8):3164-9.

7.        Gong, J., Wang, Q., and Wang, Z. (2013) NOMPC is likely a key component of Drosophila mechanotransduction channels. Eur. J. Neurosci. 38:2057-2064.

8.        Wang, K., Liu, Y., Li, Y., Guo, Y., Song, P., Zhang, X., Zeng, S., and Wang, Z. (2011) Precise spatiotemporal control of optogenetic activation using an acousto-optic device. PLoS One 6: e28468.

9.         Wang, K., Guo, Y., Wang, F., and Wang, Z. (2011) Drosophila TRPA channel painless inhibits male-male courtship behavior through modulating olfactory sensation. PLoS One 6: e25890.

10.    Huang, J., Zhang, W., Qiao, W., Hu, A., and Wang, Z. (2010) Functional connectivity and selective odor responses of excitatory local interneurons in Drosophila antennal lobe. Neuron 67: 1021-1033.

11.    Hu, A., Zhang W., and Wang, Z. (2010). Functional feedback from mushroom bodies to antennal lobesin the Drosophila olfactory pathway. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA.  107: 10262-10267.

12.    Chen Z., Wang Q., and Wang, Z. (2010). The amiloride-sensitive epithelial Na+ channel PPK28 is essential for Drosophila gustatory water reception. J. Neurosci. 30: 6247-6252.

13.     Zhang, W., Ge, W., and Wang, Z. (2007) A toolbox for light control of Drosophila behaviors through Channelrhodopsin 2-mediated photoactivation of targeted neurons. Eur. J. Neurosci. 26: 2405-2416.

14.    Du, J.L., Wei, H.P., Wang, Z.R., Wong, S.T., Poo, M-m. (2009). Long-range retrograde spread of LTP and LTD from optic tectum to retina. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 106:18890-6.

15.    Jiao X, Wang Z, Kiledjian M.. (2006). Identification of an mRNA-decapping regulator implicated in X-linked mental retardation.. Mol Cell. 8:713-22.

16.    Wang, Z., Singhvi, A., Kong, P., Scott, K.  (2004). Taste representations in the Drosophila brain.  Cell.  117:981-991.

17.    Rodgers, N.D., Wang, Z. and Kiledjian, M. (2002). Regulated a -globin mRNA decay is a cytoplasmic event proceeding through 3' to 5' exosome-dependent decapping. RNA. 8:1526-1537.

18.    Wang, Z.*, Jiao, X*., Carr-Schmid*, A. and Kiledjian, M. (2002). The hDcp2 protein is a mammalian mRNA decapping enzyme. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 99:12663-12668.

19.    Rodgers, N., Wang, Z., and Kiledjian, M.  (2002).  Characterization and purification of a mammalian endoribonuclease specific for the a-globin mRNA. J. Biol. Chem. 277:2597-2604.

20.    Wang, Z., and Kiledjian, M.  (2001).  Functional link between the mammalian exosome and mRNA decapping.  Cell.  107:751-762.

21.    Barnhart, B., .Kosinski, P., Wang, Z., Ford, G.S., Kiledjian, M. and Covey, L.R.  (2000).  Identification of a complex that binds to the CD154 3´UTR:  implications for a role in message stability during T cell activation.  J. Immunology. 165:4478-4486.

22.    Wang, Z., and Kiledjian, M.  (2000).  The Poly(A)-binding protein and an mRNA stability protein jointly regulate an endoribonuclease activity.  Mol. Cell. Biol. 20:6334-6341.

23.    Wang, Z., and Kiledjian, M.  (2000).  Identification of an erythroid-enriched endoribonuclease activity involved in specific mRNA cleavage.  EMBO J. 19:295-305.

24.    Wang, Z., Day, N., Trifillis, P. and Kiledjian, M.  (1999).  An mRNA stability complex functions with the Poly(A)-Binding protein to stabilize mRNA in vitro.  Mol. Cell. Biol. 19:4552-4560.

Mechanism of Mouse Defensive Behavior
Defense is a basic survival mechanism when animals are facing dangers. Previous studies have suggested that the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) is essential for the generation of defensive reactions. Here we showed that optogenetic activation of pyramidal neurons in the PAG in mice was sufficient to induce a series of defensive responses (including running, freezing and avoidance). However, the endogenous neural dynamics of PAG underlying defensive behaviors still remains elusive. Using chronic extracellular recording, we recorded the spiking activities of PAG neurons in freely behaving mice exposed to natural threats (rats). We observed that there exist distinct neuronal subsets within PAG participating in different aspects of defensive behaviors. Our results demonstrate the important role of PAG neuronal activities in the control of different aspects of defensive behaviors, and provide novel insights for investigating defense from an electrophysiological perspective.

Mechanism underlying Waiting Control of Rat
The willingness to wait for delayed reward and information is of fundamental importance for deliberative behaviors. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is thought to be a core component of the neural circuitry underlying the capacity to control waiting. However, the neural correlates of active waiting and the causal role of OFC in the control of waiting remain largely unknown. Here we trained rats to perform a waiting task, and recorded neuronal ensembles in OFC throughout the task. We observed that OFC neurons displayed heterogeneous neural dynamics to different phases of the waiting task. Activities of subset OFC neurons correlated with the waiting behavior, and even predicted the waiting outcomes. Furthermore, lesion or inactivation of OFC impaired the waiting performance, and optogenetic activation of OFC during waiting improved it. These findings reveal that the neural activity in OFC underlies the executive control of waiting and plays a causal role in this process.

Mechanism of Rat’s Attention and Attention Shift
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has long been thought to function in detection of conflict between sustained attention to a task target and distractors. However, it is unclear whether ACC serves to sustain attention itself. Here, we devised a task in which the time course of sustained attention could be controlled in rats, and then, using lesion experiments, applied it to demonstrate an ACC function in sustained attention. We then identified specific ACC neurons either persistently activated or suppressed during that period of attention. We propose that these neurons underlie sustained attention based on the fact that target modality had minimal influence on their activities, and distracting external sensory input during the attention period did not perturb persistent neuronal activities.

In daily life, humans have to consistently process and integrate information of stimuli in different sensory modalities simultaneously. Voluntary ‘top-down’ attention is a key mechanism to select relevant subsets of sensory information for detailed and effective processing and to actively suppress distracting irrelevant sensory information. Posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has been implicated to play a role in shift attention from one perceptual dimension of a stimulus to another. This study examined how PPC is involved in attention shifting from one modality to another. We trained rats to perform a bimodal attention shift task. In this task, subjects have to selectively attend to a stimulus in one modality and respond to it, whereas the stimulus in the other modality has to be ignored. The subjects must alternate which modality they select multiple times within each session. Neurons in PPC were recorded during this task. We found that PPC neurons showed similar response pattern to the attended stimulus either when it was presented alone or in combination with a distractor. Response to ignored distractor was inhibited. These results suggest that PPC may play an important role in modality gating.

Mechanism of Decision-Making in Rat
The neural mechanisms of decision-making in primates have been hot spots in neuroscience for decades. Previous studies show that the Lateral intraparietal area (LIP) of monkeys can receive and integrate visual signals, and these properties of LIP are essential to subsequent eye-movement responses. These results indicate that primates can accumulate evidence during perceptual (visual) decision-making and LIP plays key role in it. Recent studies demonstrate that rat can also optimally accumulate evidence for decision-making. We set out goal to dissect the circuit mechanism underlying evidence-accumulating decision-making process.We will examine the neuronal activities in orbitofrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex and media prefrontal cortex during the task.  Pharmacological and optogenetic manipulation will be applied to test the relationship between the activities in different brain regions to the behavior. We aimed to 1) identify which brain region in the rat brain play the role similar to that of LIP in monkeys, 2) dissect the mechanism how accumulation of evidence of sensory signals is achieved by neural circuits in rat brain.

已指导学生

陈子敬  01  19179  

张伟  01  19179  

陆栋梁  02  19179  

黄菊  01  19179  

王开宇  01  19179  

郭延猛  01  19179  

巩加鑫  01  19179  

王玉萍  01  19179  

邓菡菲  01  19179  

肖雄  01  19179  

现指导学生

郑超文  02  19179  

陈建辉   02  19179  

黄延旺  01  19179  

蒋梦萍  01  19179  

2011        SA-SIBS Young Faculty Award

2007        National Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholar, China

2006        "Hundred Talent Program", Chinese Academy of Sciences. China

2005        Shanghai Pujiang Program, Shanghai, China

2000       Anne B. and James R. Leathem Research Fellowship