Plasticity in the HPA Axis of Spawning Kokanee Salmon

鲑鱼在脊椎动物中有一个显着的生殖周期，因为在许多物种中，成年人在产卵后死亡。 现在我们知道，这种死亡不仅仅是许多物种共同经历的漫长迁徙的结果。 神经内分泌系统的激素参与生殖和应激反应等行为。 该项目将使用鲑鱼作为模型系统来测试新的想法，即繁殖活动是否可能相当于慢性压力，导致鲑鱼的晚期衰老和死亡。 组织培养和免疫学技术将用于确定脑垂体或下丘脑分泌的激素的作用，以及与其他动物相比，过度生产是否会导致产卵动物中发现的皮质醇激增，这反过来可能是导致过早死亡的一个因素。 这项研究的结果不仅对理解神经内分泌激素和大脑的相互作用很重要，而且还将对神经科学以外的生殖生理学和衰老领域产生影响。

Salmon fish have a remarkable reproductive cycle among vertebrate animals because in many species the adults die after spawning. It is now known that this death is not simply a result of the exhaustively long migration also common to many species. Hormones of the neuroendocrine system are involved in behaviors such as reproduction and responses to stress. This project will use salmon as a model system to test the novel idea whether reproductive activity in might be acting as the equivalent of a chronic stress, leading to advanced aging and death in salmon. Tissue culture and immunological techniques will be used to determine the role of hormones secreted by the pituitary gland or the hypothalamus, and whether, compared to other animals, an overproduction may cause the surge of cortisol found in spawning animals, which may in turn be a factor leading to early death. Results from this study will not only be important for understanding the interactions of neuroendocrine hormones and the brain, but it also will have an impact beyond neuroscience into the areas of reproductive physiology and of aging.