NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2000

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This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for 2000.The research and training plan is in the area of Behavioral Neuroscience and is entitled "The Role of Neurocalcin and Calcium Binding in Development of the Zebra Finch Telencephalon." Although some masculinization during development is frequently mediated by testicular secretions (testosterone and its metabolite, estradiol), other sexual dimorphisms, or variances between sexes, cannot be explained by the actions of steroids. For example, application of estradiol has been shown to only partially masculinize the brain of the female Zebra finch. In the Zebra finch species, the male telencephalon (the area of the brain that controls song) is markedly larger than that of the female. It is hypothesized that genetic rather than hormonal mechanisms also induce this dimorphism. In particular, this study examines the developing female Zebra Finch brain and the role of neurocalcin (a calcium binding protein) on neuronal development. Expression of neurocalcin in the female brain has been shown via amplification of RNA. Northern blot analysis, which identifies presence of RNA and thus gene expression, is being used to determine the time-course of neurocalcin expression throughout the entire period of sexual differentiation, and in-situ hybridization demonstrates its localized expression. Finally, calcium imaging is used to investigate the potential sex differences as a function of free calcium, which might be induced by increased neurocalcin in females.