Research

Understanding the neural circuits underlying fear and stress-related mental disorders is the important emerging field in neuroscience research. The dissection of the interplay between these functional circuits and peripheral systems will emerge knowledge of causal mechanisms subserving mental disorder mechanisms presently hidden from view. It will also contribute to the identification of possible biomarkers and to the development of new cognitive or behavioral intervention targets for mental disorders. Dr. Liping Wang’s research interest focuses on: 1) dissecting the mechanisms of subcortical neural circuits involved in innate behaviours, including fear, feeding and sleeping; 2) elucidating the structural and functional interactions between central nervous and peripheral systems under physiological and pathological conditions, and their comorbidity with mental disorders; 3) developing new research tools and technologies for fine behavioural identification and functional dissection of neural circuits.

Biography

Dr. Liping Wang is the founder and director of Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); the founder and director of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science (SHKIBS); the director of Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Manipulation, Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation. He also served as the vice president of the Chinese Neuroscience Society, the director of Collaborative Innovation of Science and Technology Committee of Chinese Neuroscience Society, the director of Chinese Society for Cognitive Science, the chairman of Autonomic Nerve Professional Committee of Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences, and the president of Shenzhen Society for Neuroscience.

Dr. Liping Wang has been granted the Special Government Allowances of the State Council (2024), and he was a winner of Guangdong Ding Ying Science and Technology Award (2023), the first prize of Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Award (2018), “Chang Jiang Scholars Distinguished Professor” (2017) and “Ten Thousand Talent Program Leading Scientist” (2016). He was also supported by “National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars” (2014). He has published more than 120 research papers with more than 12000 citations in total, and his h-index is 48 (Google Scholar).

Selected publications

1. Tseng Y-T^#, Schaefke B^#, Wei P^#, Wang L^#*. Defensive responses: behaviour, the brain and the body. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 24(2023): 655–671.
2. Liu Q^#, Yang X^#, Luo M^#, Su J, Zhong J, Li X, Chan RHM, Wang L*. An Iterative Neural Processing Sequence Orchestrates Feeding. Neuron, 111(2023):1651-1665.e5.
3. Tseng Y-T^#, Zhao B^#, Chen S^#, Ye J, Liu J, Liang L, Ding H, Schaefke B, Yang Q, Wang Lina, Wang F, Wang L*. The subthalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons mediate adaptive REM-sleep responses to threat. Neuron110(2022): 1223-1239.e8.
4. Zhong C^#, Wang L^#, Cao Y, Sun C, Huang J, Wang X, Pan S, He S, Huang K, Lu Z, Xu F, Lu Y*, Wang L*. A neural circuit from the dorsal CA3 to the dorsomedial hypothalamus mediates balance between risk exploration and defense. Cell Reports41(2022):111570.
5. Jia X, Chen S, Li X, Tao S, Lai J, Liu H, Huang K, Tian Y, Wei P, Yang F, Lu Z, Chen Z, Liu X an, Xu F, Wang L*. Divergent neurocircuitry dissociates two components of the stress response: glucose mobilization and anxiety-like behavior. Cell Reports41(2022):111586.
6. Huang K^#, Han Y^#, Chen K, Pan H, Zhao G, Yi W, Li X, Liu S, Wei P*, Wang L*. A hierarchical 3D-motion learning framework for animal spontaneous behavior mapping. Nature Communications12(2021):2784.
7. Yang F^#*, Liu Y^#, Chen S, Dai Z, Yang D, Gao D, Shao J, Wang Y, Wang T, Zhang Z, Zhang L, Lu WW, Li Y*, Wang L*. A GABAergic neural circuit in the ventromedial hypothalamus mediates chronic stress–induced bone loss. The Journal of Clinical Investigation130(2020):6539–6554.
8. Xiao Q^#, Zhou X^#, Wei P^#, Xie L, Han Y, Wang J, Cai A, Xu F, Tu J*, Wang L*. A new GABAergic somatostatin projection from the BNST onto accumbal parvalbumin neurons controls anxiety. Molecular Psychiatry26(2020):4719–4741.
9. Zhou Z^#, Liu X^#, Chen S, Zhang Z, Liu Y, Montardy Q, Tang Y, Wei P, Liu N, Li L, Song R, Lai J, He X, Chen C, Bi G, Feng G, Xu F*, Wang L*. A VTA GABAergic Neural Circuit Mediates Visually Evoked Innate Defensive Responses. Neuron103(2019):473-488.e6.
10. Li Lei^#, Feng X^#, Zhou Z^#, Zhang H, Shi Q, Lei Z, Shen P, Yang Q, Zhao B, Chen S, Li Lin, Zhang Y, Wen P, Lu Z, Li X, Xu F, Wang L*. Stress Accelerates Defensive Responses to Looming in Mice and Involves a Locus Coeruleus-Superior Colliculus Projection. Current Biology28(2018):859-871.e5.
11. Lu Y^#, Zhong C^#, Wang L, Wei P, He W, Huang K, Zhang Y, Zhan Y, Feng G, Wang L*. Optogenetic dissection of ictal propagation in the hippocampal–entorhinal cortex structures. Nature Communications7(2016):10962.
12. Wei P^#, Liu N^#, Zhang Z^#, Liu X, Tang Y, He X, Wu B, Zhou Z, Liu Y, Li J, Zhang Y, Zhou X, Xu L, Chen L, Bi G, Hu X, Xu F, Wang L*. Processing of visually evoked innate fear by a non-canonical thalamic pathway. Nature Communications6(2015):6756.
13. Lu Y, Li Y, Pan J, Wei P, Liu N, Wu B, Cheng J, Lu C, Wang L*. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) /poly(styrenesulfonate)-poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(acrylic acid) interpenetrating polymer networks for improving optrode-neural tissue interface in optogenetics. Biomaterials33(2012):378–394.
14. Zhang F^#, Wang L^#, Brauner M, Liewald JF, Kay K, Watzke N, Wood PG, Bamberg E, Nagel G, Gottschalk A, Deisseroth K*. Multimodal fast optical interrogation of neural circuitry. Nature446(2007):633–639.
15. Zhang F^#, Wang L^#, Boyden ES, Deisseroth K*. Channelrhodopsin-2 and optical control of excitable cells. Nature Methods3(2006):785–792.