Representative Publications

1. Li Zhang, Minhui Yu, Guoqing Chen, Siyuan Ge, Mengdi Wang, Xianying Zhang, Miao Zhao, Huating Gu, Meizhu Huang, Aixue Liu, Gengxin Ran, Zeyuan Liu, Tiepeng Liao, Qi Chen, Chenjian Miao, Yao Lu, Yibing Wang, Fengchao Wang, Zhihui Liu, Hongying Zhu, Qian Wu, Zhuan Zhou, Wei Xiong, Xiaoqun Wang, Peng Cao. Genetically encoded fluorescent reporters visualizing α-synuclein pathology in live brain. Cell (Published online March 4, 2026)
2. Zhiyong Xie, Xianying Zhang, Miao Zhao, Lifang Huo, Meizhu Huang, Dapeng Li, Shuangfeng Zhang, Xingyu Cheng, Huating Gu, Chen Zhang, Cheng Zhan, Fengchao Wang, Congping Shang, Peng Cao. The gut-to-brain axis for toxin-induced defensive responses. Cell 185: 4298-4316 (2022)

• Cell,“A gut-retching discovery”.
• Nature Reviews Neuroscience, “Gut-brain pathways for toxin defence”.
• The New York Times, “How brains send a signal that it’s time to vomit”.

3. Congping Shang, Zhihui Liu, Zijun Chen, Yingchao Shi, Su Liu, Dapeng Li, Qian Wang, Peng Cao. A parvalbumin-positive excitatory visual pathway to trigger fear responses in mice. Science348: 1472-77 (2015)
4. Zhihui Liu, Zijun Chen, Congping Shang, Fei Yan, Yingchao Shi, Jiajing Zhang, Baole Qu, Hailin Han, Yanying Wang, Dapeng Li, Thomas Südhof, Peng Cao. IGF1-dependent synaptic plasticity of mitral cells in olfactory memory during social learning.Neuron95: 106-122 (2017)
5. Congping Shang, Aixue Liu, Dapeng Li, Zhiyong Xie, Zijun Chen, Meizhu Huang, Yang Li, Yi Wang, Wei Shen, Peng Cao. A subcortical excitatory circuit for sensory-triggered predatory hunting in mice. Nature Neuroscience22: 909-920 (2019)

• Nature Neuroscience, “Hungry for motion: the senses propel predation”.

6. Zhiyong Xie, Dapeng Li, Xinyu Cheng, Qing Pei, Meizhu Huang, Huating Gu, Miao Zhao, Dandan Geng, Fan Zhang, Yuanwu Ma, Peng Cao. A brain-to-spinal neural circuit for repetitive self-grooming in mice. Neuron110: 874-890 (2022)

• Neuron, “Of pride and groom: The gains and limits of studying the neuroanatomy of rodent self-grooming in translational research”.

7. Zhiyong Xie, Huating Gu, Meizhu Huang, Xingyu Cheng, Yuan Xie, Zongxiang Tang, Fan Zhang, Peng Cao. Mechanically evoked defensive attack is controlled by GABAergic neurons in the anterior hypothalamic nucleus. Nature Neuroscience25: 72-85 (2022)
8. Haicheng Lu, Guoqing Chen, Miao Zhao, Huating Gu, Wenxuan Zheng, Xiating Li, Meizhu Huang, Dandan Geng, Minhui Yu, Xuyan Guan, Li Zhang, Huimeng Song, Yaning Li, Menghua Wu, Fan Zhang, Dapeng Li, Qingfeng Wu, Congping Shang, Zhiyong Xie, Peng Cao. Brainstem opioid peptidergic neurons regulate cough reflexes in mice. The Innovation 5(6): 100721 (2024)
9. Ting Wang, Shuping Han, Yaxin Wang, Yaning Li, Yuxiao Li, Zhifang Xing, Shuangfeng Zhang, Yu Xia, Feipeng Zhu, Zhen-Hua Chen, Yu Zheng Li, Jingjing Wang, Mingrui Xu, Qinghua Liu, Man Jiang, Xiaohong Xu, Xiangning Li, Hui Gong, Peng Cao, Qing-Feng Wu. Identification of a neural basis for energy expenditure in the mouse arcuate hypothalamus. Neuron 113(22):3813-3833.e9 (2025)

 

Other Publications

10. Qing Pei, Qixin Chen, Zhiqi Tian, Le Zhu, Yang Chen, Jihong Gong, Shen Wang, Yijuan Xiang, John S Khamo, Jiaqi Fan, Yi Rong, Yi Yu, Yuyang Qin, Shiping Wu, Youssef Faragalla, Peng Cao, Kai Zhang, Ying Lai, Ling-Gang Wu, Cong Ma, Xiaofei Yang, Jiajie Diao. Munc18 modulates syntaxin phase separation to promote exocytosis. Nature Neuroscience 29(2):306-314. (2026).
11. Miao Zhao, Li Zhang, Zhenhua Chen, Shuangfeng Zhang, Xinyu Cheng, Meizhu Huang, Xiating Li, Huating Gu, Xuyan Guan, Dandan Geng, Yaning Li, Yiheng Tu, Zhiyong Xie, Fan Zhang, Huijie Ma, Xiaoming Li, Dapeng Li, Qing-Feng Wu, Peng Cao. A molecularly defined brain circuit module for regulating panic-like defensive state. Nature Communications16 (1), 5523 (2025)
12. Dandan Geng, Yaning Li, Bo Yang, Li Zhang, Huating Gu, Tianyun Zhang, Zijie Zhao, Hui Liu, Qingzhuo Cui, Rong Zheng, Peng Cao, Fan Zhang. Cholecystokinin neurons in the spinal trigeminal nucleus interpolaris regulate mechanically evoked predatory hunting in male mice. Nature Communications16 (1), 5523 (2025)
13. Lijuan Tang, Jiayu Wang, Jiayi Ding, Junyou Sun, Xing-jun Chen, Quqing Shen, Ruiheng Song, Peng Cao, Rong Gong, Fang Xu, Woo-ping Ge, Wenzhi Sun, Hu Zhao, Jianglai Wu. Curved light sheet microscopy for centimetre-scale cleared tissue imaging. Nature Photonics 19 (1): 577–584 (2025)
14. Mingxiu Cheng, Meiqi Wang, Liang Wang, Fangfang Yin, Jiayi Shen, Xin Xing, Yuyan Shi, Zhiwei Liu, Ping Wu, Wenling Gao, Yanyan Fan, Peng Cao, Cheng Zhan. Brainstem catecholaminergic neurons induce torpor during fasting by orchestrating cardiovascular and thermoregulation changes. Nature Communications 16(1):5954 (2025)
15. Hao Wang, Qin Wang, Liuzhe Cui, Xiaoyang Feng, Ping Dong, Liheng Tan, Lin Lin, Hong Lian, Shuxia Cao, Huiqian Huang, Peng Cao, Xiao-Ming Li. A molecularly defined amygdala-independent tetra-synaptic forebrain-to-hindbrain pathway for odor-driven innate fear and anxiety. Nature Neuroscience 27(3):514-526 (2024)
16. Si Li, Wei Li, Yuqi Miao, Meixi Gao, Yanfei Jia, Zhenhua Chen, Xi Chen, Taotao Pan, Shuangfeng Zhang, Zhifang Xing, Shuping Han, Xue-Lian Sun, Xiaochan Wei, Zhiming Liu, Wentao Zhou, Wentao Wu, Fangzheng Liu, Lei Han, Hongmei Zhu, Hongying Ye, Longqi Liu, Yinqing Li, Peng Zhang, Jian Gong, Yongji Tian, Youwei Ai, Peng Cao, Di Wu, Xiangbing Qi, Songbai Gui, Qing-Feng Wu. Modeling craniopharyngioma for drug screening reveals a neuronal mechanism for tumor growth. Science Translational Medicine 16(778): eadn6763 (2024)
17. Ying Li, Yuchen Deng, Yifei Zhang, Dan Xu, Xuefen Zhang, Yue Li, Yidan Li, Ming Chen, Yuxin Wang, Jiyan Zhang, Like Wang, Yufeng Cang, Peng Cao, Linlin Bi, Haibo Xu. Distinct glutamatergic projections of the posteroventral medial amygdala play different roles in arousal and anxiety. JCI Insight 9(14): e176329 (2024)
18. Peihao Chen, Jing Wang, Shuangfeng Zhang, Yan Wang, Yuze Sun, Songlin Bai, Qingcui Wu, Xinyu Cheng, Peng Cao, Xiangbing Qi. Total syntheses of Tetrodotoxin and 9-epiTetrodotoxin. Nature Communications 15(1):679 (2024)
19. Lifang Huo, Zhimin Ye, Meiling Liu, Ziqing He, Meizhu Huang, Dapeng Li, Qian Wu, Qian Wang, Xiaoqun Wang, Peng Cao, Ji Dong, Congping Shang. Brain circuits for retching-like behavior. National Science Review 11(1): nwad256 (2023)
20. Yiwen Hou, Guichang Zou, Xianglian Wang, Hui Guo, Xiao Ma, Xingyu Cheng, Zhiyong Xie, Xin Zuo, Jing Xia, Huanhuan Mao, Man Yuan, Qi Chen, Peng Cao, Yupeng Yang, Li Zhang, Wei Xiong. Coordinated activity of a central pathway drives associative opioid analgesic tolerance. Science Advances 9(6): eabo5627 (2023)
21. Yiwei Wang, Ling You, KaMun Tan, Meijie Li, Jingshan Zou, Wenxin Hu, Tianyu Li, Ruizhi Yuan, Fenghua Xie, Fengyuan Xin, Miaomiao Liu, Yixiao Gao, Congping Shang, Zhiwei You, Xiaorong Gao, Wei Xiong, Peng Cao, Minmin Luo, Feng Chen, Bo Hong, Kexin Yuan. A common thalamic hub for general and defensive arousal control. Neuron 111(20):3270-3287.e8. (2023)
22. Ming-Ming Zhang, An-Qi Geng, Kun Chen, Jian Wang, Pan Wang, Xin-Tong Qiu, Jun-Xiang Gu, Hong-Wei Fan, Da-Yu Zhu, Shan-Ming Yang, Qi-Yu Chen, Zhao-Xiang Zhou, Bo-Yuan Fan, Yang Bai, Ke-Ke Xing, Jia-Ming Feng, Jun-Da Wang, Yan Chen, Ya-Cheng Lu, Ying Liang, Peng Cao, Bong-Kiun Kaang, Min Zhuo, Yun-Qing Li, Tao Chen. Glutamatergic synapses from the insular cortex to the basolateral amygdala encode observational pain. Neuron110: 1993-2008.e6. (2022)
23. Jing-Jing Yan, Xiao-Jing Ding, Ting He, Ai-Xiao Chen, Wen Zhang, Zi-Xian Yu, Xin-Yu Cheng, Chuan-Yao Wei, Qiao-Dan Hu, Xiao-Yao Liu, Yan-Li Zhang, Mengge He, Zhi-Yong Xie, Xi Zha, Chun Xu, Peng Cao, Haohong Li, Xiao-Hong Xu. A circuit from the ventral subiculum to anterior hypothalamic nucleus GABAergic neurons essential for anxiety-like behavioral avoidance. Nature Communications13 (1), 1-16 (2022)
24. Yuan Wang, Rong Huang, Zuying Chai, Changhe Wang, Xingyu Du, Yuqi Hang, Yongxin Xu, Jie Li, Xiaohan Jiang, Xi Wu, Zhongjun Qiao, Yinglin Li, Bing Liu, Xianying Zhang, Peng Cao, Feipeng Zhu, Zhuan Zhou Calcium-independent transmission at the central synapse formed between dorsal root ganglion and dorsal horn neurons. EMBO Reports23 (11), e54507 (2022)
25. Meizhu Huang, Dapeng Li, Xinyu Cheng, Qing Pei, Zhiyong Xie, Huating Gu, Xuerong Zhang, Zijun Chen, Aixue Liu, Yi Wang, Fangmiao Sun, Yulong Li, Jiayi Zhang, Miao He, Yuan Xie, Fan Zhang, Xiangbin Qi, Congping Shang, Peng Cao. The tectonigral pathway regulates appetitive locomotion in predatory hunting in mice. Nature Communications12: 4409 (2021)
26. Zhiyong Xie, Mengdi Wang, Zeyuan Liu, Congping Shang, Changjiang Zhang, Le Sun, Huating Gu, Gengxin Ran, Qing Pei, Qiang Ma, Meizhu Huang, Junjing Zhang, Rui Lin, Youtong Zhou, Jiyao Zhang, Miao Zhao, Minmin Luo, Qian Wu, Peng Cao, Xiaoqun Wang. Transcriptomic encoding of sensorimotor transformation in the midbrain. eLife10: e69825 (2021)
27. Can Liu, Chia-Ying Lee, Greg Asher, Liqin Cao, Yuka Terakoshi, Peng Cao, Reiko Kobayakawa, Ko Kobayakawa, Katsuyasu Sakurai, Qinghua Liu. Posterior subthalamic nucleus (PSTh) mediates innate fear-associated hypothermia. Nature Communications12: 2648 (2021)
28. Chaojuan Yang, Yonglu Tian, Feng Su, Yangzhen Wang, Mengna Liu, Hongyi Wang, Yaxuan Cui, Peijiang Yuan, Xiangning Li, Anan Li, Hui Gong, Qingming Luo, Desheng Zhu, Peng Cao, Yunbo Liu, Xunli Wang, Min-hua Luo, Fuqiang Xu, Wei Xiong, Liecheng Wang, Xiang-yao Li, Chen Zhang. Restoration of FMRP expression in adult V1 neurons rescues visual deficits in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome. Protein & Cell(2021)
29. Shiwei Qiu, Weihao Zhao, Xue Gao, Dapeng Li, Weiqian Wang, Bo Gao, Weiju Han, Shiming Yang, Pu Dai, Peng Cao, Yongyi Yuan. Syndromic deafness gene ATP6V1B2 controls degeneration of spiral ganglion neurons through modulating proton flux. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology9: 742714 (2021).
30. Jing Chen, Mingxiu Cheng, Liang Wang, Lei Zhang, Dan Xu, Peng Cao, Fengchao Wang, Herbert Herzog, Sen Song, Cheng Zhan. A Vagal-NTS neural pathway that stimulates feeding. Current Biology30: 3986-3998.e5. (2020)
31. Zheng-dong Zhao, Zongming Chen, Xinkuan Xiang, Mengna Hu, Hengchang Xie, Xiaoning Jia, Fang Cai, Yuting Cui, Zijun Chen, Lechen Qian, Jiashu Liu, Congping Shang, Yiqing Yang, Xinyan Ni, Wenzhi Sun, Ji Hu, Peng Cao, Haohong Li, Wei Shen. Zona incerta GABAergic neurons integrate prey-related sensory signals and induce an appetitive drive to promote hunting. Nature Neuroscience22: 921-932 (2019)
32. Congping Shang, Zijun Chen, Aixue Liu, Yang Li, Jiajing Zhang, Baole Qu, Fei Yan, Yaning Zhang, Weixiu Liu, Zhihui Liu, Xiaofei Guo, Dapeng Li, Yi Wang, Peng Cao. Divergent midbrain circuits orchestrate escape and freezing responses to looming stimuli in mice. Nature Communications9: 1232 (2018)
33. Yonglu Tian, Chaojuan Yang, Yaxuan Cui, Feng Su, Yongjie Wang, Yangzhen Wang, Peijiang Yuan, Shujiang Shang, Hao Li, Jizong Zhao, Desheng Zhu, Shiming Tang, Peng Cao, Yunbo Liu, Xunli Wang, Liecheng Wang, Wenbo Zeng, Haifei Jiang, Fei Zhao, Minhua Luo, Wei Xiong, Zilong Qiu, Xiang-Yao Li, Chen Zhang, An excitatory neural assembly encodes short-term memory in the prefrontal cortex. Cell Reports22: 1734-1744 (2018)
34. Peng Cao, Xiaofei Yang, and Thomas Südhof, Complexin Activates Exocytosis of Distinct Secretory Vesicles Controlled by Different Synaptotagmins. The Journal of Neuroscience33: 1714-1727 (2013)
35. Xiaofei Yang, Peng Caoand Thomas Südhof. Deconstructing Complexin function in activating and clamping Ca2+-triggered exocytosis by comparing knockout and knockdown phenotypes. PNAS110: 20777-20782 (2013)
36. Peng Cao, Anton Maximov, and Thomas Südhof, Activity-dependent IGF1 exocytosis is controlled by the Ca2+-sensor synaptotagmin 10. Cell145: 300–311 (2011).

• Cell, “An exciting calcium sensor for smell”.
• Nature Reviews Neuroscience, “Molecular neuroscience: Synaptotagmin 10-mediated release”.

37. Zhiping Pang, Wei Xu, Peng Caoand Thomas Südhof. Calmodulin suppresses synaptotagmin-2 transcription in cortical neurons. Journal of Biological Chemistry285: 33930-33939 (2010)
38. Zhiping Pang, Peng Cao, Wei Xu and Thomas Südhof. Calmodulin controls synaptic strength via presynaptic activation of calmodulin kinase II. The Journal of Neuroscience30: 4132-4142 (2010)
39. Yan Yang, Peng Cao, Yang Yang, and Shu-Rong Wang, Corollary discharge circuits for saccadic modulation of the pigeon visual system. Nature Neuroscience11: 595-602 (2008)
40. Daoying Hu, Peng Cao, Edda Thiels, Charleen Chu, Gang-Yi Wu, Tim Oury, Eric Klann. Hippocampal long-term potentiation, memory, and longevity in mice that overexpress mitochondrial superoxide dismutase. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory87: 372-384 (2007)
41. Peng Cao, Yan Yang, Yang Yang and Shu-Rong Wang. Differential modulation of thalamic neurons by optokinetic nuclei in the pigeon. Brain Research 1069: 159-165 (2006)
42. Peng Cao, Yong Gu, and Shu-Rong Wang, Visual neurons in the pigeon brain encode the acceleration of stimulus motion. The Journal of Neuroscience24: 7690–7698 (2004)
43. Quan Xiao, Peng Cao, Yong Gu and Shu-Rong Wang Visual responses of neurons in the pretectal nucleus lentiformis mesencephali to moving patterns within and beyond receptive fields in pigeons. Brain Behavior and Evolution57: 80-86 (2001)

 

Reviews and Previews

44. Zhihui Liu, Peng Cao. Love or not? A new subpopulation of neurons controls the switch of female sexual behavior. Neuron110: 2893-2895 (2022)
45. Wei Xiao, Zhuo-Lei Jiao, Esra Senol, Jiwei Yao, Miao Zhao, Zheng-Dong Zhao, Xiaowei Chen, Peng Cao, Yu Fu, Zhihua Gao, Wei L Shen, Xiao-Hong Xu. Neural circuit control of innate behaviors. Science China Life Sciences65: 466–499 (2022)
46. Xue Liu, Hongren Huang, Terrance P Snutch, Peng Cao, Liping Wang, Feng Wang. The superior colliculus: cell types, connectivity, and behavior. Neuroscience Bulletin38: 1519–1540 (2022)
47. Zheng-Dong Zhao, Li Zhang, Xinkuan Xiang, Daesoo Kim, Haohong Li, Peng Cao, Wei L Shen. Neurocircuitry of predatory hunting. Neuroscience Bulletin 39(5):817-831 (2023)
48. Haicheng Lu, Peng Cao. Neural mechanisms underlying the coughing reflex. Neuroscience Bulletin 39(12):1823-1839 (2023)
49. Xuyan Guan, Peng Cao. Brain mechanisms underlying panic attack and panic disorder. Neuroscience Bulletin 40(6):795-814 (2024)
50. Huating Gu, Feiran Zhao, Zhihui Liu, Peng Cao. Defense or death? A review of the neural mechanisms underlying sensory modality-triggered innate defensive behaviors. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 92:102977 (2025)
51. Ruoshui Xu, Dongdong Shi, Kai Wang, Qian Yang, Peng Cao, Zhen Wang. Progress in spatiotemporal regulation of fear memory: neural circuit mechanisms and implications for PTSD. General Psychiatry 38(4):e102224 (2025)
52. Jing Chen, Yijia Xu, Peng Cao. The role of the gut-brain axis in diseases. Physiology 41(2):0 (2026)