NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2000

这项行动资助了NSF 2000年的少数民族博士后研究奖学金。这项研究和培训计划是在行为神经科学领域，标题是“神经钙素和钙结合在斑马雀端脑发育中的作用”。虽然发育过程中的一些男性化通常是由睾丸分泌物(睾酮及其代谢物雌二醇)介导的，但其他的性别二态或性别差异不能用类固醇的作用来解释。例如，雌激素的应用已经被证明只能部分地使雌性斑马雀的大脑雄性化。在斑马雀物种中，雄性的端脑(大脑中控制歌唱的区域)明显大于雌性。据推测，遗传机制而不是激素机制也导致了这种二型性。特别是，这项研究考察了雌性斑雀大脑的发育以及神经钙素(一种钙结合蛋白)在神经元发育中的作用。通过扩增RNA显示了神经钙素在女性大脑中的表达。Northern印迹分析确定了RNA的存在，从而确定了基因的表达，并用来确定神经钙素在整个性别分化过程中的表达时程，原位杂交证实了它的定位表达。最后，钙成像被用来研究潜在的性别差异作为游离钙的函数，这可能是由女性神经钙素增加引起的。

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.