
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown
Published: March 12, 2025
Abstract Despite decades of research, connecting molecular and cellular phenotypes to complex behavioral traits remains an elusive goal 1 . Social motivation exhibits individual trait variation 2 , which we hypothesize is mediated by variability across hypothalamic neurons. To test this, generated single-nucleus RNA-sequencing profiles 3,4 >120,000 neurons from tuberal hypothalamus adjacent thalamus in 36 mice, balanced sex autism-associated mutation 5 with all mice assessed for social First, show that activation patterns predict behavior individuals: specifically, paraventricular Agtr1a + (angiotensin receptor 1a) predicted reduced behavior. Subsequent inhibition AGTR1A telmisartan—an FDA-approved antihypertensive 6 —improved orienting. Second, natural neuronal proportions—likely arising stochastic developmental events 7 —is sufficient shape adult even among genetically-identical identified multiple populations whose relative abundance reward-seeking Chemogenetic one such population, Nxph4 the postero-lateral 8 suppressed aspects motivation. This work establishes proof-of-principle approach where single-cell genomics precisely maps neural substrates governing revealed variations architecture deterministically influence motivation, enabled identification therapeutically-actionable targets immediate translational potential disorders deficits.
Language: Английский