Research in the Talbi lab focuses on how the brain integrates metabolic state with reproductive function across the lifespan.
Reproduction is one of the most energetically demanding biological processes, and its regulation is tightly coupled to nutritional status, hormonal milieu, and internal energy balance. Our work aims to understand how neural circuits sense metabolic signals and translate them into changes in reproductive physiology and behavior, and how these processes differ between sexes and across developmental and life stages.
Research Axes:
Puberty timing and sex differences in developmental transitions:
A major focus of the lab is understanding how the timing of puberty is regulated by the brain, and why pubertal development differs between males and females. We are particularly interested in how metabolic cues interact with neuroendocrine circuits to initiate puberty, and how alterations in nutritional state can advance, delay, or disrupt this process.
More broadly, we investigate how early-life hormonal environments contribute to the sexual differentiation of the brain, and how these developmental processes shape sex-specific trajectories of reproductive maturation and vulnerability to metabolic disruption.
Metabolic control of fertility :
Beyond puberty, the lab investigates how metabolic imbalance undermines reproductive function across the lifespan. Conditions such as obesity and undernutrition profoundly affect fertility in both females and males, yet the neural mechanisms underlying these effects remain poorly understood.
Our research examines how the brain responds to metabolic stress and how these responses alter reproductive hormone secretion, gonadal function, and reproductive behaviors. By focusing on the central mechanisms within the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, we aim to identify shared and sex-specific pathways through which metabolism shapes reproductive capacity.
Women’s health across reproductive aging:
A third major area of interest in the lab is women’s health across the reproductive lifespan, including the reproductive years and the menopausal transition. Fluctuations in sex hormones during these periods are associated with changes in fertility, metabolic health, and neuroendocrine function, as well as cognition, mood and behavior, yet the brain mechanisms driving these transitions remain incompletely understood.
Our work seeks to understand how neuroendocrine circuits adapt to changing hormonal and metabolic environments, and how dysregulation of these processes contributes to conditions such as ovulatory dysfunction, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and menopause-associated symptoms such as hot flushes.