Prof. Xiao-Hong Xu
Principal Investigator
Research Direction
Sexual differentiation of the brain and behavior
Contact Information
Address: 131 Dong-An Road, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai China 200032
Email: xiaohongxu@fudan.edu.cn
Dr. Xu Xiaohong received her Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Life Sciences at Peking University in 2000. She went on to pursue her PhD at Case Western Reserve University in the United States, completing her studies in 2006. From 2006 to 2012, Dr. Xu conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco. In November 2012, she returned to China to lead a research group at the Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences. In November 2024, she joined the Institutes of Brain Science at Fudan University.
Enrollment Major
Neurobiology
Research Work
The brain, like our body and certain peripheral organs, exhibits profound sexual dimorphism. During development, genetic factors and hormones collaborate to direct the brain's sexual differentiation, leading to the formation of sex-specific neural circuits in critical brain regions, such as the hypothalamus. These circuits not only regulate sex-specific hormone secretion but also govern reproductive behaviors. Additionally, the sexual differentiation of the brain is closely linked to sex differences in susceptibility to various neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Since establishing her research group in 2012, Dr. Xu's team has systematically investigated the neural mechanisms underlying sex-specific behaviors using mouse models. Key achievements include:
1. The identification of critical neurons and circuits in the hypothalamus that regulate male-specific behaviors.
2. The elucidation of the neural mechanisms responsible for gender differences in emotional behaviors.
Over the past several years, Dr. Xu’s research group has published several influential papers in leading academic journals such as Neuron, Nature Communications, and Cell Reports. Looking ahead, the group will continue to focus on the sexual differentiation of the brain, with particular emphasis on the key genes, dynamic processes, and their links to disease susceptibility during brain and behavioral differentiation.
Selected Publications
1. Jiao Z, Zhang M, Wu Y, Li S, Gao M, Zhang W, Xu X* (2024). Acute recruitment of VTA dopamine neurons by mPOA Esr1+ neurons to facilitate consummatory male mating actions. Neurosci Bull. Accepted
2. Yan JJ, Ding XJ, He T, Chen AX, Zhang W, Yu ZX, Cheng XY, Wei CY, Hu QD, Liu XY, Zhang YL, He M, Xie ZY, Zha X, Xu C, Cao P, Li H, Xu XH*(2022). A circuit from the ventral subiculum to anterior hypothalamic nucleus GABAergic neurons essential for anxiety-like behavioral avoidance. Nat Commun. 13(1):7464
3. Chen AX, Yan JJ, Zhang W, Wang L, Yu ZX, Ding XJ, Wang DY, Zhang M, Zhang YL, Song N, Jiao ZL, Xu C, Zhu SJ, Xu XH*(2020). Specific Hypothalamic Neurons Required for Sensing Conspecific Male Cues Relevant to Inter-male Aggression. Neuron. 108(4):763-774.e6
4. Zha X, Wang L, Jiao ZL, Yang RR, Xu C, Xu XH*(2020). VMHvl-Projecting Vglut1+ Neurons in the Posterior Amygdala Gate Territorial Aggression. Cell Rep. 31(3):107517
5. Wei YC, Wang SR, Jiao ZL, Zhang W, Lin JK, Li XY, Li SS, Zhang X, Xu XH*(2018). Medial preoptic area in mice is capable of mediating sexually dimorphic behaviors regardless of gender. Nat Commun. 9(1):279