Neural and Chemosensory Control of Behavior

生殖行为对所有哺乳动物物种的生存至关重要。睾丸激素是生殖所必需的，激素通过增加雄性和雌性的性反应来激活雄性的交配。这项拟议的研究与嗅觉系统和大脑中激素敏感神经元数量调节雄性大鼠生殖行为的神经通路有关。免疫细胞化学技术将用于识别激素敏感神经元和在交配期间活跃的神经元。特别注意的是大脑的一个区域，包括中间带和中央被盖区。在阉割雄性中通过植入内毛/被盖激素恢复交配，可以显示出该区域对交配激素调节的重要性。研究这一区域的小损伤可以帮助识别对交配至关重要的神经细胞，并为揭示激素对生殖行为影响的投射系统提供基础。因为勃起是所有哺乳动物雄性觉醒的主要标志，所以这些研究应该与理解雄性觉醒和生殖行为如何在大鼠和甚至更复杂进化的哺乳动物的大脑组织中表现出来有关。

Reproductive behaviors are essential for the survival of all mammalian species. Testicular horomones are required for reproduction, and hormones activate mating in males by actions that increase the sexual responsiveness of males and females. The proposed research has to do with the neural pathways through which the olfactory systems and populations of hormones-sensitive neurons in the brain regulate reproductive behavior in the male rat. Immunocytochemical techniques will be used to identify horomone-sensitive neurons and neurons that are active during mating. Special attention ill be given to a brain region that includes the zona incerta and central tegmental field. Restoration of mating in castrate males by incerta/tegmental hormone implants can show the importance of the region for the hormonal regulation of mating. Studying the effect of small lesions to this region can help identify neuronal cell essential for copulation, and provide a foundation for tract-tracing designed to reveal the projecting systems through which horomones exert their effects on reproductive behavior. Because erection is the cardinal sign of arousal in males of all mammalian species, the studies should have relevance for understanding how male arousal and reproductive behavior are represented in the organization of the brain in rats and even more complexly evolved mammalian species.