On Apr. 16, 2018, Emory University’s Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Brain Health Center have received a five-year, $12.7 million National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) grant to continue innovative research on oxytocin, a brain chemical known for establishing mother-infant bonds, at the University’s Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition.

The goal of the Conte Center research during the next five years is to use cutting-edge technologies, including CRISPR gene editing and optogenetics, in research with rodents and nonhuman primates to understand more precisely the way oxytocin acts in the brain, including its role in neural communication and social functioning.

In addition to the focused research projects, the Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition will facilitate outreach activities to local schools and the Atlanta community. Since its initial funding in 2013, researchers at Emory’s Conte Center have worked with rodents, monkeys and humans, including those who have autism, to explore how normal brain chemistry involved in social bonding, such as between parent and offspring or between partners, affects specific brain communication and mental processing of social experiences.