Hormonal and Environmental Influences on Maternal Behavior

荷尔蒙和环境对母亲行为的影响

• 批准号: 8719361
• 负责人: Jill Schneider
• 金额: $ 9万
• 依托单位: University of Massachusetts Amherst
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1988
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1988-09-15 至 1991-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8719361&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Hormonal; Environmental; Influences; Maternal; Behavior

These experiments are designed to explore the exact routes by which hormones have their effects on behavior. We know that the hormones associated with reproduction have profound effects on the behavior of humans and other animals. Dr. Schneider will work with steroid hormones that are produced during pregnancy and have measurable effects on the maternal behavior of the female during pregnancy and after the birth of her offspring. Dr. Schneider will use house mice for this project because during pregnancy the female typically increases the size of her nest in preparation for the birth of her offspring. This increase in nesting behavior can be mimicked in a nonpregnant female by injecting her with the pregnancy steroid, progesterone. Dr. Schneider believes that progesterone changes the mother's behavior by way of brain mechanisms that are also involved in the regulation of body temperature. (House mice give birth all year round, even during cold winters, and their young are born without the ability to maintain their own body temperature.) To unravel the connection between the regulation of body temperature and the control of maternal behavior, Dr. Schneider will (1) measure nesting, maternal care, and body temperature in mice that have progesterone implants in very precise brain areas to show where there may be overlap among the brain mechanisms controlling maternal behavior and temperature regulation, and (2) test the effects of a variety of steroids in these brain sites to see if the same ones influence both maternal nesting and body temperature. Dr. Schneider will also measure the levels of steroids in the blood to find out if the action of progesterone on the brain changes the secretion of naturally occurring steroids from the ovaries or adrenal glands. Dr. Schneider's research will help to show how hormones prepare the mother for the birth and care of her offspring. More generally, these studies may provide a better understanding of the mechanisms by which steroid hormones (commonly prescribed for a variety of reasons: birth control, infertility, menopause, allergies) produce their primary and side effects on human behavior and physiology.

这些实验旨在探索确切的路线， 哪些激素会影响行为 我们知道 与生殖有关的激素对 人类和其他动物的行为。 施耐德医生会 怀孕期间产生的类固醇激素， 对雌性的母性行为有明显的影响 在怀孕期间和她的后代出生后。 施耐德博士将在这个项目中使用家鼠， 怀孕的雌性通常会增加她的巢的大小， 为她的后代的诞生做准备。 的这种增加 筑巢行为可以模仿一个非怀孕的女性， 给她注射怀孕类固醇黄体酮 博士 施耐德认为，孕酮改变了母亲的 行为的大脑机制，也参与了 调节体温。 （家鼠全年都在生孩子 圆，即使在寒冷的冬天，他们的年轻人出生时没有 保持自己体温的能力）。 解开 体温调节与体温调节之间的联系 控制母性行为，施耐德博士将（1）测量 筑巢，母亲的照顾，和体温的小鼠， 孕酮植入非常精确的大脑区域， 大脑机制之间可能存在重叠， 母亲的行为和温度调节，和（2）测试 在这些大脑部位的各种类固醇的影响， 同样的因素影响着母体的筑巢和身体 温度 施耐德博士还将测量 血液中的类固醇，以确定孕酮的作用是否 改变了大脑中自然产生的 来自卵巢或肾上腺的类固醇。 施耐德博士的研究将有助于揭示激素是如何 母亲的生育和照顾她的孩子。 更 一般来说，这些研究可以提供更好的理解， 类固醇激素（通常用于 各种各样的原因：节育，不孕，更年期， 过敏）对人体产生主要和副作用 行为和生理学。