Caroline Palavicino-Maggio

Aggression is a fundamental behavior observed across species, shaping competition for resources, social hierarchies, and survival. When dysregulated, aggression is a core feature of many neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Despite its clinical relevance, the neural mechanisms that generate aggression, especially how it differs between males and females, remain poorly understood. Our research uses Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) as a model system to uncover the neural and genetic principles that give rise to aggressive behavior. 

Although flies are obviously far removed from humans, they share many conserved genes, neuromodulatory systems, and circuit-level design principles with mammalian brains. My goal is not to model human aggression directly, but to identify core mechanisms that generalize across species. 

This approach builds on the pioneering work of Dr. Palavicino-Maggio's postdoctoral mentor, Edward A. Kravitz, whose studies in invertebrate systems established foundational principles for aggression research. His work in lobsters revealed how neuromodulators such as serotonin regulate dominance and aggressive states, and his later work in Drosophila helped establish that fruit fly as a powerful genetic model for studying social behavior. 

Palavicino-Maggio et al. identified a small population of female-specific cholinergic neurons, pC1α neurons, that potently drive female aggression, opening a new framework for studying sex-specific circuit mechanisms relevant to psychiatric disease. 

In the lab, we combine genetics, connectomics, high-throughput behavioral tracking, and computational analysis to map aggression circuits, identify conserved candidate genes, and understand how stress and neuropeptides reshape aggressive states. We train students and trainees to think across levels, from molecules to circuits to behavior, while asking questions that are both fundamental and broadly relevant to brain function and disease.