Luping Yin (1987-), born in Handan, Hebei. She received her B.S. degree from School of Life Science in LanZhou University in 2011 and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2016. From 2017 to 2023, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Duke University and NYU Langone School of Medicine. Dr. Luping Yin has long been engaged in the research of female social behaviors, especially the neural mechanisms of sexual behaviors. Her main research work was published in Neuron (2), Nature Communications, Cerebral Cortex, Hormones and Behavior and other journals. She will join Westlake University in August 2023 as an assistant professor.

Reproduction and survival of organisms are inseparable from the mating behavior of both sexes. In this process, the coordinated control of neural activity plays a crucial role. The initiation, execution, and termination of sexual behavior are precisely regulated by complex neural networks involving multiple brain regions, including but not limited to the hypothalamus, limbic system, and various sensory processing areas. Additionally, the regulation of sexual behavior by neural activity also depends on sex hormones and neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. These biochemical signals can modulate emotions, desires, and reward perception, thus influencing sexual impulses and mating behavior.

Due to the complexity of the estrous cycle in females, previous research has primarily focused on males, while the study of the neural basis of reproductive behavior in females has been relatively limited. Dr. Luping Yin has long been interested in the cyclic regulation mechanism of female sexual behavior and is dedicated to deepening the understanding of the variations in sexual behavior from various perspectives, including neurobiology and endocrinology. In her previous research, Dr. Yin discovered a subgroup of neurons expressing cholecystokinin receptor in the ventrolateral part of the hypothalamus (VMHvl-CCKAR), which can encode the level of female sexual arousal. These cells are selectively activated by olfactory cues and skin touch from males and their activation or inhibition has a strong impact on female sexual behavior. Interestingly, this group of cells also expresses estrogen receptors.

Our laboratory is devoted to studying the neural regulatory mechanisms of sexual behavior and other social behaviors. Using mice as the primary experimental subjects, we employ various experimental techniques such as brain slice electrophysiology, two-photon in vivo single-cell imaging, multi-brain region fiber recording, optogenetics/chemogenetics, behavioral analysis, single-cell sequencing, in situ hybridization, molecular genetic manipulation, etc. Our current research focuses include, but are not limited to: 1) the circuitry underlying sexual behavior in single brain regions and across multiple brain regions; 2) the mechanisms of multisensory integration in sexual behavior; 3) the reciprocal transformations between sexual behavior and other social behaviors during the reproductive cycle; 4) the pathological mechanisms and therapeutic strategies in sexual disorders.

We value interdisciplinary collaboration and welcome postdoctoral researchers, Ph.D. students, research assistants, and undergraduate students with diverse backgrounds (life sciences, neuroscience, computer science, machine learning, physics, etc.) to join our lab. We place great emphasis on tailoring individual training plans based on the unique background and career goals of each team member, aiming to cultivate outstanding researchers and collectively achieve remarkable scientific accomplishments.

1. Lischinsky JE, Yin L, Shi C, Prakash N, Burke J, Shekaran G, et al. Hardwired to attack: Transcriptionally defined amygdala subpopulations play distinct roles in innate social behaviors. Nature Neuroscience. 2023.

2. Guo Z, Yin L, Diaz V, Dai B, Osakada T, Lischinsky JE, et al. Neural dynamics in the limbic system during male social behaviors. Neuron. 2023.

3. Mei L, Yan R*, Yin L*, Sullivan RM, Lin D. Antagonistic circuits mediating infanticide and maternal care in female mice. Nature. 2023.

4. Yin L, Lin D. Neural control of female sexual behaviors. Horm Behav. 2023.

5. Yin L, Hashikawa K, Hashikawa Y, Osakada T, Lischinsky JE, Diaz V, et al. VMHvll(Cckar) cells dynamically control female sexual behaviors over the reproductive cycle. Neuron. 2022.

6. Jiang-Xie LF*, Yin L*, Zhao S, Prevosto V, Han BX, Dzirasa K, et al. A Common Neuroendocrine Substrate for Diverse General Anesthetics and Sleep. Neuron. 2019.

7. Yin L*, Zheng R*, Ke W*, He Q*, Zhang Y, Li J, et al. Autapses enhance bursting and coincidence detection in neocortical pyramidal cells. Nat Commun. 2018.

8. Yin L, Rasch MJ, He Q, Wu S, Dou F, Shu Y. Selective Modulation of Axonal Sodium Channel Subtypes by 5-HT1A Receptor in Cortical Pyramidal Neuron. Cereb Cortex. 2017.

For a full list, please visit:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QSJbTl4AAAAJ&hl=en

E-mail: yinluping@westlake.edu.cn