Project Summary The ability of an infant to distinguish caregivers from strangers is a fundamental behavior for survival early in life. Across many taxa, infants use olfactory cues to recognize caregivers. Although the survival of neonates depends on this behavior, we do not fully understand the neural mechanisms behind the olfactory encoding of social identity. This is partly because there is a lack of robustly identifiable and ethologically relevant behaviors in well-established animal models. Since all altricial animals rely on parental care for survival and children with developmental disorders (e.g., fragile X syndrome and autism) often have altered olfactory perception, it is essential to understand the mechanisms for linking caregiver odors with affiliative behavior. This proposal seeks to illuminate the neural circuitry underlying olfactory recognition of caregivers in neonatal vertebrate brains using in vivo imaging and molecular tools in social and translucent tadpoles, Ranitomeya imitator. R. imitator tadpoles recognize their caregivers using olfactory cues and display a distinct begging behavior to them, allowing us to decode parental recognition. The combination of in vivo brain imaging and complex behavior in R. imitator makes them uniquely suited for decoding neural circuitry of the developing vertebrate brain. This proposal will test the hypothesis that exposure to social olfactory cues during development modifies the catecholaminergic circuitry in the brain to encode caregiver identity and facilitate behavioral output to receive care from caregivers. The applicant, Dr. Akbari, will use a combination of techniques in behavioral and molecular neuroscience to identify the neurons responsible for caregiver recognition. To test the functional role of distinct neuronal populations in enabling caregiver recognition, pharmacological manipulations will be applied to each brain region. Dr. Akbari will identify cell types involved in social bond formation using single nucleus RNA sequencing. Additionally, the combination of neural tracing and two-photon in vivo imaging will allow the dissection of the circuitry underlying this vital social behavior. This training plan will enhance Dr. Akbari’s background as an optical scientist by adding new experimental techniques in neuroscience to her skill set to prepare for a career in research. Dr. Akbari will learn behavioral and molecular neuroscience techniques from Dr. O’Connell and expand on her computational techniques to analyze calcium activity data with guidance from Dr. Schnitzer. The unique combination of expertise of the mentorship team, Drs. O’Connell and Schnitzer, as well as the fostering environment and excellent resources of Stanford University, will prepare this candidate for leading an independent research program in experimental neuroscience, focused on understanding how the developing vertebrate brain encodes social identity in healthy and disease states.