Time: April 1, 2017;
Source: Central Nerves Regeneration Research Institute of Guangdong, Hongkong and Macao;
Publisher: the News Center.

Ren Chaoran, an associate researcher, and Su Guohui, a fellow, of JNU's Central Nerves Regeneration Research Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao published a paper titled A retino-raphe projection regulates serotonergic activity and looming-evoked defensive behavior in Nature Communications, a supplement to Nature magazine, on March 31. Their study provides new insights into how the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus (DRN) and Superior Colliculus (SC) work in concert to extract and translate visual threats into defensive behavioral responses.

（Schematic diagram showing how the conduction path from the retina to the dorsal raphe nucleus regulates looming-evoked defensive behavioral responses）

Huang Lu, a doctoral student, is the first author of the paper, and Ren and Su are the corresponding authors. Their research project is sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation, the 973 Program (the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China) of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Guangdong Natural Science Foundation and the 111 Program (a national program to establish world-class universities). It is conducted by JNU’s Central Nerves Regeneration Research Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. The project is also supported by Prof. Yuan Tifei of Nanjing Normal University; Xu Fuqiang, a researcher in the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics; Luo Minmin, a researcher in the National Institute of Biological Sciences; Prof. Pu Mingliang of Peking University; and Prof. Gary Pickard of the University of Nebraska.

Link to the paper: http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14908