Bridging Clinical Curiosity with Preclinical Science
This project began as a bridge between clinical research and preclinical studies. An MD collaborator at our institute was intrigued by the potential link between kisspeptin (a neuropeptide best known for its role in reproduction), social behavior and gender identity. The idea was simple but bold: what if early-life kisspeptin signaling plays a role in shaping the social brain? When the corresponding authors proposed this line of research to me during my master’s dissertation, I was immediately drawn in. It felt like the perfect mix of neuroendocrinology, behavior, and developmental neuroscience, and a real opportunity to explore something new.
A Personal and Emotional Commitment
What made this work truly special for me was how personally invested I became with the animals. I followed them from birth to adulthood and developed a strong sense of connection and responsibility. Some nights, I was in the animal facility from 9 PM to 1 AM, recording sexual behavior in silence, just me and the rats. It was a lonely but strangely comforting routine, a quiet companionship that deepened my appreciation for their role in our work. I saw firsthand how deeply respectful research with animals must be, especially when you're with them every step of the way.
New Methods, New Questions
Technically, this study was about pushing the boundaries of what our lab had done before. We introduced intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections and adapted behavioral tests to better fit our hypothesis. For example, in the sexual behavior tests, we moved away from using hormonally primed females, a common method, and instead tracked naturally cycling females. This meant testing them over five consecutive days to catch females during their receptive phase. It was time-consuming, but it offered a more natural and relevant context to assess sexual behavior.
Letting the Data Tell the Story
One of the most rewarding parts of this project was how organically it evolved. We didn’t set out to prove a theory; we were genuinely testing a hypothesis and letting the data guide us. Most of the analysis happened at the end of the project, which made it all the more exciting to watch the story take shape. One of our most striking findings was the loss of correlation between ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) and social behavior following neonatal kisspeptin blockade. USVs are often used as indicators of emotional or social states, and seeing that connection disappear raised important questions about how early hormonal signals shape social communication.
Looking Ahead: New Questions, New Directions
After this project wrapped up, I was lucky to receive a PhD fellowship to keep following this research path. We’re now focusing on how kisspeptin acts in a time- and sex-specific manner to shape social behavior, and how early-life modulation rewires neuronal circuits in the brain. There are things we wish we’d done differently, like tracking the estrous cycle more closely or expanding the behavioral repertoire, but that’s part of the scientific process. Each study opens doors to new questions.
Why This Matters
Our findings suggest that kisspeptin signaling during the neonatal period plays a key role in shaping sex-specific social behaviors through hypothalamic circuits. It’s a reminder that timing is everything in neurodevelopment, and that even short, early disruptions can leave lasting marks. Understanding this mechanism better could have implications beyond rodents. It might help explain how early neuroendocrine signals influence social and gender-related behavior in humans or even contribute to sex-biased neurodevelopmental conditions.