معرفی
Zuoxin Wang is a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at Florida State University, where he leads the Wang Lab investigating the neurobiological foundations of social behavior using the prairie vole model system. His work bridges neuroscience, endocrinology, and psychology to unravel mechanisms of social attachment and reward processing.
Education
- Ph.D. in Neuroscience, University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1991)
Research Focus
Dr. Wang's research centers on three interconnected domains: (1) The neurobiology of social attachment, where his lab demonstrated how oxytocin, vasopressin, and dopamine in the nucleus accumbens regulate pair bonding in monogamous voles; (2) Environmental and hormonal regulation of adult neurogenesis, revealing how mating, social isolation, and gonadal steroids influence neuron production in brain regions critical for social behavior; and (3) Social and drug reward interactions, establishing shared neural circuitry between social bonding and drug addiction. His approach integrates pharmacological, neuroanatomical, cellular, and molecular techniques to dissect these complex behaviors.
Publication Trends
Analysis of Dr. Wang's 15 most recent publications (2009-2017) reveals consistent focus on dopamine-oxytocin interactions in the nucleus accumbens during pair bonding, with increasing exploration of epigenetic and developmental factors. Key themes include stress buffering via oxytocin, amphetamine's disruption of social bonds, and hormonal regulation of neurogenesis. The work predominantly employs the prairie vole model to investigate conserved mammalian neural mechanisms relevant to human social disorders.
Training and Mentorship
- Supervises undergraduate DIS students in behavioral experiments, histology, and neural tissue analysis
- Focuses on hands-on training in animal behavior scoring, brain sectioning, and cell counting
- Emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches combining neuroscience and endocrinology
Research Environment
The Wang Lab operates within FSU's Psychology Department, maintaining specialized facilities for rodent behavioral studies, neuroanatomical analysis, and molecular neuroscience. Current projects examine intracellular dopamine signaling mechanisms, hormone-neurogenesis interactions in the amygdala, and comparative reward circuitry between social bonding and drug exposure, with implications for addiction treatment and social dysfunction disorders.
