Gonadal Hormone Influences on Brain Activity

在雌性大鼠中，性腺激素雌激素和黄体酮调节大脑中神经递质多巴胺(DA)的活动。本实验室的实验旨在确定雌激素在大脑中影响的机制，并试图确定这一现象在大鼠自然行为中的功能作用。考虑到后者，我们发现大脑中特定区域纹状体中的DA对雌性大鼠生殖行为的特定方面非常重要。性腺激素对纹状体作用的机制(S)似乎与雌激素和孕酮对细胞内(传统)雌激素受体的作用不同。我的实验室的研究一再证明，雌激素通过一种新的机制在纹状体中发挥作用。性腺激素在调节雌性大鼠DA活性中的作用有两个关键问题，本实验将解决以下两个问题：1)雌激素对纹状体影响的调节机制(S)是什么？2)纹状体及其DA释放在雌性大鼠生殖行为中的作用(S)是什么？性腺类固醇激素参与调节纹状体DA活性对于我们理解神经内分泌学的基本过程以及理解基底节的功能是重要的。确定类固醇激素在大脑中作用的新机制，对于我们理解这些激素在哪里、如何以及何时影响大脑活动和行为具有重要意义。最后，这些实验将帮助我们了解这些激素是如何调节雌性大鼠的行为的。

In female rats, the gonadal hormones estrogen and progesterone modulate activity of the neurotransmitter, dopamine (DA), in the brain. Experiments in this laboratory have been directed at defining the mechanisms mediating the effect of estrogen in the brain, as well as attempting to determine the functional role of this phenomena in the natural behavior of the rat. With the latter in mind, we find that DA in one particular area of the brain, the striatum, is important for specific aspects of the female rat reproductive behavior. The mechanism(s) mediating the effects of the gonadal hormones on the striatum appears to be different from those mediating the effects of estrogen and progesterone at intracellular (traditional) estrogen receptors. Research from my laboratory has repeatedly demonstrated that estrogen acts in the striatum through a novel mechanism. There are two key questions about the role of gonadal hormones in the modulation of DA activity in the female rat that the experiments in this proposal will address: 1) What are the mechanism(s) mediating the effects of estrogen on the striatum?; and 2) What role(s) of the striatum, and of DA release, in reproductive behavior in the female rat?The involvement of the gonadal steroid hormones in the modulation of striatal DA activity is important for our understanding of the basic processes of neuroendocrinology as well as our understanding of the functions of the basal ganglia. Identifying novel mechanisms through which steroid hormones act in the brain has important implications for our understanding of where, how, and when these hormones affect the brain activity and behavior. Finally, these experiments will help us to understand how these hormones modulate behavior in the female rat.