Neurotransmitter Interactions in the Medial Preoptic Area ofthe Brain.

男性的生殖功能是由大脑中一个叫做内侧视前区的区域控制的。在这个区域内，几种神经递质及其相互作用调节着这一功能。在这个奖项中，伊莱恩·赫尔博士将研究将神经递质物质直接注射到内侧视前区以及这些物质在同一区域的内源性水平的影响。用于收集脑组织液体的技术是微透析，用于测量神经递质水平的技术是高效液相色谱法。这两种技术对通常存在于脑组织中的少量神经递质都非常敏感。为了确定繁殖行为中释放了哪些神经递质，将进行行为观察。研究的神经递质将是血清素，多巴胺和-氨基丁酸。这将提供控制生殖功能的生化信息。在这些研究中获得的知识将有助于理解大脑如何控制复杂的功能，如生殖。

Male reproductive function is under the control of a region of the brain called the medial preoptic area. Within that area several neurotransmitters and their interactions modulate that function. In this award, Dr. Elaine Hull will study the effects of direct injections of neurotransmitter substances into the medial preoptic area as well as the endogenous levels of these substances in the same region. The technique used to collect fluid bathing the brain tissue is microdialysis and the technique used to measure the levels of the neurotransmitters is high performance liquid chromatography. Both of these techniques are very sensitive to the small amounts of neurotransmitters that are normally present within brain tissue. Behavioral observations will be made in order to determine which neurotransmitters are released during reproductive behavior. The neurotransmitters studied will be serotonin, dopamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid. This will provide information about the biochemical messages that control reproductive function. The knowledge gained in these studies will contribute to understanding how the brain controls complex functions, such as reproduction.