Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Yale University received a $838,378 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242), effective March 10, 2026, with a completion date of February 28, 2031. The award supports a five-year neuroscience research project investigating the neural mechanisms underlying infant social behaviors and parent-infant interactions. The research focuses on somatostatin-expressing neurons in the infant mouse zona incerta (ZISST neurons) and their role in modulating infant responses to maternal presence.

The project delivers three primary research objectives: (1) characterizing the activity dynamics of ZISST neurons in response to maternal behaviors using fiber photometry and single-unit recordings; (2) establishing functional connectivity of ZISST neurons through whole-brain mapping and projection-specific circuit recordings to identify neural pathways mediating maternal presence effects; and (3) developing and implementing odor learning assays for preweaning mice to test ZISST neuron function in infant social learning and behavior. These research activities are designed to elucidate fundamental mechanisms of early-life social development and parent-infant interactions, with implications for understanding lifelong mental and physical health outcomes seeded during infancy.