Principal Investigator
We are studying the neurohormonal adaptations in the postpartum brain which are involved in maternal physiology and behavior.
Becoming a mother is a developmental milestone which can lead to life-long transformations in female physiology. The postpartum period is among the most critical stages in adulthood, where many functions adapt to maintain lactation and infant care. This is characterized by changes in hormonal release, and heightened sensitivity to different sensory cues from the offspring.
Our lab investigates the synaptic and circuit mechanisms during the postpartum period which gate reactivity to cues from the newborn and promote hormonal release and maternal behaviors in mice. An important player in maternal physiology is the neurohormone oxytocin. Release of oxytocin from the hypothalamus occurs during nursing but can also be triggered by other offspring signals (such as cries) to enable maternal care. We are exploring the neural pathways and plasticity phenomena controlling the activity of hypothalamic oxytocin neurons in maternal mice; and how different sensory cues from the newborn affect neural responses, oxytocin release and maternal behavior.
Deciphering what aspects of postpartum adaptations specifically in hypothalamic homeostatic circuits are reversible or long-lasting, will inform us about the life-long consequences of motherhood on hormonal release and sensory processing in females.
Gaining mechanistic understanding about what infant cues and sensory pathways recruit the oxytocinergic system in new mothers can provide new therapeutical avenues for a variety of postpartum conditions which are often characterized by abnormalities in oxytocin signaling and impaired maternal behavior. In addition, deciphering what aspects of postpartum adaptations in hypothalamic homeostatic circuits are reversible or long-lasting will inform us about the life-long consequences of motherhood on hormonal release and sensory processing in females.
Our central questions are:
We are using a variety of synaptic, circuit, and behavior approaches to uncover the neurocircuits controlling oxytocin release and maternal care. Our current investigations are based on Dr. Valtcheva’s previous work uncovering a noncanonical circuitry in the postpartum brain which gates oxytocin release and maternal behavior in response to infant vocalizations.
Glennon E, Valtcheva S, Zhu A, Wadghiri YZ, Svirsky MA, Froemke RC, Locus coeruleus activity improves cochlear implant performance. 2023 Nature. Jan;613(7943):317-323.
Schiavo JK, Valtcheva S, Bair-Marshall CJ, Song SC, Martin KA, Froemke RC, Innate and plastic mechanisms for maternal behaviour in auditory cortex. 2020 Nature. Nov;587(7834):426-431.
Valtcheva S, Paillé V, Dembitskaya Y, Perez S, Gangarossa G, Fino E, Venance L, Developmental control of spike-timing dependent plasticity by tonic GABAergic signaling in striatum. 2017 Neuropharmacology. Jul 15;121:261-277.
Valtcheva S, Venance L, Astrocytes gate Hebbian synaptic plasticity in the striatum. 2016 Nat Commun.Dec 20;7:13845.
Principal Investigator