Faculty
Faculty
Ben-Long Liu
Professor
Principal Investigator
Ben-Long Liu, Ph.D., earned his Ph.D. from the Institute of Brain Science at Fudan University in 2017. Between 2018 and 2023, he conducted postdoctoral research at Washington University in St. Louis, focusing on neural circuits underlying pleasant touch, pain, and itch. His work identified the neuropeptide and spinal pathway mediating pleasant touch and contributed broadly to somatosensory-affective neuroscience, with lead-author publications in Science and JCI Insight and contributing-author work in Nat Commun. He joined the Institutes of Brain Science at Fudan University as a Principal Investigator in June 2023.
Contact Information
Address: Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, 131 Dong An Rd, Shanghai China 200032
Email：liu_b@@fudan.edu.cn
Research Direction
Neural coding and molecular mechanisms of affective somatosensation
Neural mechanisms of social behavior, internal-state regulation, and instinctive actions
Enrollment Major
Neurobiology
Research Work
His research investigates how somatosensory cues and internal physiological states are transformed into affective experiences and social behaviors. By integrating in vivo calcium imaging, multi-channel extracellular electrophysiology, circuit-specific genetic manipulation, and ethologically grounded behavioral paradigms, his laboratory seeks to delineate the neural computations through which the brain generates instinctive and emotionally meaningful actions.
The Liu laboratory aims to bridge molecular, circuit-level, and systems-behavioral approaches to elucidate how neural networks regulate affective somatosensation, social interaction, and survival-related behavioral states.
Selected Publications
Liu HZ#, Yi LX#, Li GL, Wang KL, Wang HS, Zhang YQ*, Liu BL*(2025). Fibroblast Growth Factor 8 Suppresses Neurotoxic Astrocytes and Alleviates Neuropathic Pain via Spinal FGFR3 Signaling. Neurosci Bull. doi: 10.1007/s12264-025-01533-x
Liu BL#, Qiao L#, Liu K#, Liu J, Piccinni-Ash TJ, Chen ZF*(2022). Molecular and neural basis of pleasant touch sensation. Science. 376(6592):483-491
Liu BL#, Cao QL#, Zhao X, Liu HZ, Zhang YQ*(2020). Inhibition of TRPV1 by SHP-1 in nociceptive primary sensory neurons is critical in PD-L1 analgesia. JCI Insight. 5(20): e137386
Chen S#, Gao XF#, Zhou Y, Liu BL, Liu XY, Zhang Y, Barry DM, Liu K, Jiao Y, Bardoni R, Yu W*, Chen ZF*(2020). A spinal neural circuitry for converting touch to itch sensation. Nat Commun. 11(1):5074
Gu XY#, Liu BL#, Zang KK, Yang L, Xu H, Pan HL, Zhao ZQ, Zhang YQ* (2015). Dexmedetomidine inhibits Tetrodotoxin-resistant Na(v)1.8 sodium channel activity through G(i/o)-dependent pathway in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. Mol Brain. 8:15
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