Stress-related emotional disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression) and chronic somatic conditions (e.g., osteoporosis, diabetes) represent complex, bidirectional comorbidities with considerable individual variability. Maladaptive responses to acute stress constitute a critical early window for progression to chronic disorders. Although the neural mechanisms of chronic stress are well characterized, the circuits that underlie individual differences in adaptation to acute stress—particularly predator stress—remain poorly understood. Stress is a dynamic homeostatic process involving the detection, evaluation, and peripheral integration of stressors. However, prevailing research has focused largely on central circuits and hormonal pathways, overlooking how peripheral organs, through specific neural circuits, cell types, and signaling molecules, reshape body–brain communication. To bridge this gap, several key mechanisms must be elucidated: (1) the neural circuits governing individual variability in acute stress perception and adaptation; (2) the assessment of stressor salience and value; and (3) how peripherally derived factors during acute stress modulate emotional centers. Focusing on this body–brain axis in stress-induced negative emotions, Prof. Liu has published work in journals including Neuron, Science Bulletin, Progress in Neurobiology, and Translational Psychiatry.

Body-Brain interaction mechanisms underlying stress-induced mental disorders

1. Xuemei Liu*#, Juan Lai#, Chuanliang Han#, Hao Zhong, Kang Huang, Yuanming Liu, Xutao Zhu, Pengfei Wei, Liming Tan, Fuqiang Xu, Liping Wang* .Neural Circuit Underlying Individual differences in Visual Escape Habituation. Neuron. (2025) May 8:S0896-6273(25)00301-0. （Co-first and Co- Corresponding）

2. Xuemei Liu#*, Shuaiyu Wang#, Juan Lai#, Xiang Gao, Lina Wang, Bo Feng, Liang Yang, Zhengjiang Qian, Ruotian Jiang, Jun Chu, Liming Tan*, Xiang Li*,and Liping Wang*. A bone-derived hormone permits rapid visual escape via GPR37 receptor in a subpopulation of VTA GABAergic neurons. Neuron (2026） （Co-first and Co- Corresponding）

3. Zheng Zhou#, Xuemei Liu#, Shanping Chen, Zhijian Zhang, Yuanming Liu, Quentin Montardy, Yongqiang Tang, Pengfei Wei, Nan Liu, Lei Li, Ru Song, Juan Lai, Xiaobin He, Chen Chen, Guoqiang Bi, Guoping Feng, Fuqiang Xu, Liping Wang*.A VTA GABA neural circuit mediates a visually evoked innate defensive responses. Neuron (2019) 103(3):473-488.e6. 18.68 （Co-first）

4. Hao Zhong #, Kangrong Lu #, Liping Wang, Wanshan Wang*, Pengfei Wei*, Xuemei Liu*. Subtle Behavioral Alterations in the Spontaneous Behaviors of MPTP Mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease. Translational Psychiatry. (2025) Apr 3;15(1):119. (Lead Corresponding)

5. Tianlang Ke#, Ruilan Yang#, Zewen Tan#, Liping Cao*, Xuemei Liu*.Whole-brain spatial distribution of serine incorporator 2 mRNA in adult C57BL/6 J mice. Brain Research Bulletin. 2025 Aug 18;230:111519. （Lead Corresponding）

6. Quentin Montardy#,Meixia Wei#,Xuemei Liu#,Yi Tian,Zheng Zhou,Juan Lai,Binghao Zhao,Schaefke Besnard, Brahim Tighilet*, Christian Chabbert*, Liping Wang*. Selective optogenetic stimulation of Glutamatergic, but not GABAergic, Vestibular Nuclei neurons induces immediate and reversible postural imbalance in mice. Progress In Neurobiology. (2021). 204:102085.（Co-first）

7. Quentin Montardy#, Zheng Zhou#, Zhuogui Lei#, Xuemei Liu#, Pengyu Zeng, Chen Chen, Yuanming Liu, Paula Sanz-Leon, Kang Huang, Liping Wang*. Characterization of glutamatergic VTA neural population responses to aversive and rewarding conditioning in freely-moving mice. Science Bulletin (2019).64.16:1167-1178.（Co-first）

She has long been devoted to dissecting the subcortical pathways underlying negative emotions such as fear and anxiety, and to investigating the central-peripheral regulation of emotional disorders. She has published 19 SCI papers (11 in Q1 journals), including 11 as first or corresponding (co-corresponding) author.
Representative publications:Neuron (2019, cited >200 times, co-first author);Neuron (2025, first & co-corresponding author);Neuron (2026, in press, first & co-corresponding author);Science Bulletin (2019);Progress in Neurobiology (2021);Translational Psychiatry (2025, last corresponding author).
He has been granted 17 national invention patents: one successfully licensed as first inventor, and another as a shareholder contribution to a company.
He has been the principal investigator of 5 grants, including the Special Project of Lingang National Laboratory — “Discovery and Validation of Brain-Computer Interface Targets for Depression”, the General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Shenzhen General Program.He also participates in the National Key R&D Program of Science and Technology Innovation 2030 — Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, specifically the major project “Pathogenesis and Intervention Mechanisms of Depression”.