Anita E. Autry, Ph.D.

Our laboratory is focused on uncovering and dissecting neural circuits that control social behaviors and understanding how these circuits are regulated under physiological and pathological conditions. Specifically, we study parental behavior which is essential for the health and survival of offspring, as well as infant-directed aggression and other behaviors associated with parenting. The research questions center around how stress affects the function of circuits controlling parental behaviors, how circuits that mediate stress responses interact over time, and how peptidergic signaling leads to lasting central and peripheral effects of stress.

Carta, I., Arora, T., Lutzu, S., Podda, G., Vera, G., Rudolph, S., Autry, A.E. (2025).  Sex-specific hypothalamic neural projection activity drives caregiving. Nature Communications.  May 2;16(1):4116.

Autry, A.E.  (2025).  Parenting: How caregiving experience refines sensory integration.  Current Biology, Jan;35(1)36-49.

Babaev, B., Goyal, S., Arora, T., Autry, A.E., Ross, R.A. (2025).  A novel method for estrous cycle staging using supervised object detection.  NPP-Digital Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Jan;3(3).

Carta, I., Autry, A.E.  (2023).  Hush Little baby, don’t you cry: How aversion to infant distress calls drives caregiving.  Neuron, Apr;111(7)917-919.

Abdelmesih, B., Anderson, R., Bambah-Mukku, D., Carta, I., Autry, A.E.  (2023).  Urocortin-3 neurons in the perifornical area are critical mediators of chronic stress on female infant-directed behavior.  Molecular Psychiatry, Jan;28(1):483-496.

Sedwick, V.M., Autry, A.E.  (2022).  Anatomical and molecular features of the amygdalohippocampal transition area and its role in social and emotional behavior processes.  Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, Nov;142:104893.

Autry, A.E.  (2022).  Function of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the hypothalamus:  Implications for depression pathology.  Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, Nov;16(15):1028223.

Autry, A.E., Wu, Z., Kohl, J., Bambah-Mukku, D., Rubinstein, N.D., Marin-Rodriguez, B., Carta, I., Sedwick, V., Dulac, C. (2021).  Urocortin-3 neurons in the mouse perifornical area promote infant-directed neglect and aggression.  eLife, Aug;23(10):e64680.

Autry, A.E., O’Connell, L.A. (2021).  The Parental Dilemma: How Evolution of Diverse Strategies for Infant Care Informs Social Behavior Circuits.  Frontiers in Neural Circuits, Nov;18(15):734474.

Kim, J.W., Autry, A. E., Na, E. S., Adachi, M., Bjorkholm, C., Kavalali, E. T., Monteggia, L. M.  (2021).  Sustained effects of rapidly acting antidepressants require BDNF-dependent MeCP2 phosporylation.  Nature Neuroscience, Aug;24(8):1100-1109.

Choudhury, D., Autry, A.E., Tolias, K.F., Krishnan, V. (2021).  Ketamine: Neuroprotective or Neurotoxic?  Frontiers in Neuroscience, Sep;10(15):672526.

Kohl, J., Babayan, B. M., Rubinstein, N.D., Autry, A. E., Marin-Rodriguez, B., Kapoor, V., Miyamaishi, K., Zweifel, L. S., Luo, L., Uchida, N., Dulac, C. (2018). Functional circuit architecture underlying parental behavior. Nature. 556 (7701) 326-331

Kohl, J.K.*, Autry A.E.*, Dulac, C. (2017). The Neurobiology of Parenting: A Neural Circuit Perspective. Bioessays, 39(1) 1-11.
Adachi, M.*, Autry, A.E.*, Maghoub, M., Suzuki, K., Monteggia, L.M. (2017). TrkB Signaling in Dorsal Raphe Nucleus is Essential for Antidepressant Efficacy and Normal Aggression Behavior. Neuropsychopharmacology, 42(4) 886-894.

Autry, A.E. (2016). Neurobiology of Chronic Social Defeat Stress: Role of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Signaling in the Nucleus Accumbens. Biological Psychiatry, 80(6) 39-40.

Morris, M.J., Na, E.S., Autry, A.E., Monteggia, L.M. (2016). Impact of DNMT1 and DNMT3a forebrain knockout on depressive- and anxiety like behavior in mice. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 135; 139-145.

Renier, N., Adams, E., Kirst, C., Wu, Z., Azevedo, R., Kohl, J., Autry, A.E., Kadiri, L., Venkataraju, K.U., Zhou, Y., Wang, V.X., Tang, C.Y., Olsen, O., Dulac, C., Osten, P., Tessier-Lavigne, M. (2016). Mapping of brain activity by automated volume analysis of immediate early genes. Cell, 165 (7) 1-14.

Wu, Z., Autry, A.E., Bergan, J.F., Watabe-Uchida, M., Dulac, C.G. (2014). Galanin neurons in the medial preoptic area govern parental behavior. Nature, 509 (7500) 325-330.

Nosyreva, E., Autry, A.E., Kavalali, E.T., Monteggia, L.M. (2014). Age dependence of the rapid antidepressant and synaptic effects of acute NMDA receptor blockade. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 94; 1-7.

Nosyreva, E., Szabla, K., Autry, A.E., Ryazanov, A.G., Monteggia, L.M., Kavalali, E.T. (2013). Acute suppression of spontaneous neurotransmission drives synaptic potentiation. Journal of Neuroscience, 33(16) 6990-7002.

Benekareddy, M., Nair, A.R., Dias, B.G., Suri, D., Autry, A.E., Monteggia, L.M., Vaidya, V.A. (2013). Induction of the plasticity-associated immediate early gene Arc by stress and hallucinogens: role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 16(2) 405-15.

Autry, A. E., Monteggia, L.M. (2012). Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Neuropsychiatric Illness. Pharmacological Reviews, 64(2) 238-58.

Na, E.S., Nelson, E.D., Adachi, M., Autry, A.E., Maghoub, M.A., Kavalali, E.T., Monteggia, L.M. (2012). A mouse model for MeCP2 duplication syndrome: MeCP2 overexpression impairs learning and memory and synaptic transmission. Journal of Neuroscience, 32(9) 3109-17.

Autry, A.E., Adachi, M., Nosyreva, E., Na, E., Los, M.F., Cheng, P., Kavalali, E.T., Monteggia, L.M. (2011). NMDA Receptor Blockade at Rest Desuppresses Protein Translation and Triggers Rapid Behavioural Antidepressant Responses. Nature, 475(7354) 91-5.

Autry, A. E., Monteggia, L.M. (2009). Epigenetics and Suicide. Biological Psychiatry, 66(9) 812-3.

Autry, A.E., Adachi, M., Cheng, P., Monteggia, L.M. (2009) Gender-specific impact of brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling on stress-induced depression-like behavior. Biological Psychiatry, 66(1) 84- 90.

Adachi, M., Autry A.E., Covington, H.E., Monteggia, L.M. (2009). MeCP2-mediated transcription repression in the basolateral amygdala may underlie heightened anxiety in a mouse model of Rett Syndrome. Journal of Neuroscience, 29(13) 4218-27.

Adachi, M., Barrot, M., Autry, A.E., Theobald, D., Monteggia, L.M. (2008). Selective loss of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the dentate gyrus attenuates antidepressant efficacy. Biological Psychiatry, 63(7) 642-9.

Autry, A. E., Grillo, C.A., Piroli, G. G., Rothstein, J.D., McEwen, B.S., Reagan, L.P. (2006). Glucocorticoid regulation of glutamate transporter isoform expression in the rat hippocampus. Neuroendocrinology, 83(5-6) 371-9.