1. Research Background

Becoming a mother is a developmental milestone in many mammalian species which can lead to life-long transformations in female physiology, thus having a profound sex-specific impact on aging and disease predisposition. The postpartum period is characterized by profound changes in key physiological processes which are necessary to maintain lactation and infant care. Nursing is an evolutionary conserved behavior, essential not only to ensure the survival of the species, but also to establish the basis for mammalian social organization, by supporting inter-individual bonding between mother and offspring. Hormonal cascades prime neural circuits to initiate milk production and nursing, and physical interactions with the infants are instrumental for maintaining and shaping maternal behaviors.

The postpartum period is, however, an extremely critical time where vulnerability to stress is very high. Many new mothers suffer from postpartum conditions, triggered by different stressors, including obesity and depression. This leads to significant decrease in lifestyle quality and increased risk of developing metabolic disorders. Maternal health is an important public health concern, as these conditions are negatively correlated with life expectancy and decreased health in aging.

Gaining mechanistic understanding about how internal metabolic and hormonal signals and external sensory cues are processed in the postpartum brain can provide new therapeutical avenues. In addition, studying what aspects of postpartum adaptations in concrete neural networks are reversible or long-lasting, will inform us about the life-long consequences of motherhood on hormonal release, sensory processing and coping strategies in females.

2. Research questions addressed by the group:

We focus on the neural plasticity mechanisms which enable endocrine and behavior responses to the offspring, as well as sustain physiological adaptations during the postpartum period. We specifically investigate the synaptic and circuit mechanisms which gate reactivity to cues from the newborn to promote hormonal release and adaptive behaviors in lactating mice.

We are focusing on the following three research directions:

1. Identify the neural pathways relaying infant stimuli.
2. Dissect the synaptic and circuit mechanisms which enable and sustain neural, hormonal and behavioral responses to pups.
3. Understand how maternal physiological demands are shaped during the postpartum period and influenced by offspring needs.

3. Possible project(s):

1. Investigate the dynamics of neural and behavior responses to infant and environmental stimuli in maternal mice and how this shapes hard-wired behaviors (eating, drinking, arousal states) to allow adaptive scaling of physiological needs during the postpartum period.
2. Study how acute or chronic postpartum stress affects synaptic rules and neural pathways for the processing of infant cues and hormonal release, thus leading to maladaptive behaviors in maternal mice.

4. Applied Methods and model organisms:

All projects combine synaptic, circuit and behavior approaches using multiple state-of-the-art methods in transgenic mice.

• Electrophysiology recordings and calcium imaging of neuronal activity at single-cell and population level in awake mice.
• Tracking of neurotransmitter/hormonal release in vivo.
• Computational analysis of mother-infant interactions and other naturalistic behaviors.
• Functional dissection of neural circuits using viral, molecular, pharmacological, opto- /chemogenetic tools.

5. Desirable skills and qualifications:

Previous experience in animal research as well as a background in neuroscience and/or computational biology is desirable, but not required.

6. References and key publications:

Yang M, Keller D, Dobolyi A, Valtcheva S, The lateral thalamus: a bridge between multisensory processing and naturalistic behaviors. TrendsNeurosci.2025.Jan;48(1):33-46.

Valtcheva S, Issa HA, Bair-Marshall CJ, Martin KA, Jung K, Zhang Y, Kwon H-B, Froemke RC, Neural circuitry for maternal oxytocin release induced by infant cries. Nature. 2023. Sep;621(7980):788-795.

Glennon E, Valtcheva S, Zhu A, Wadghiri YZ, Svirsky MA, Froemke RC, Locus coeruleus activity improves cochlear implant performance. Nature. 2023. 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. Nature. 2020. Nov;587(7834):426-431.

Valtcheva S, Venance L, Astrocytes gate Hebbian synaptic plasticity in the striatum. Nat Commun. 2016. Dec 20;7:13845.