Social Influences on Endocrine and Behavioral Responses During Development

发育过程中社会对内分泌和行为反应的影响

• 批准号: 0080320
• 负责人: Michael Hennessy
• 金额: $ 26.78万
• 依托单位: Wright State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-09-01 至 2004-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0080320&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Social; Influences; Endocrine; Behavioral; Responses

In infants of primate and other mammalian species, the presence of the mother, but not another familiar animal, can prevent or reduce hormonal stress responses to threatening conditions. This selective capacity of the mother to reduce stress responses seems to disappear after puberty, but other companions may attain this ability at about the same time. These normal developmental changes may influence social grouping patterns of the species and have implications for understanding how humans cope with stressful conditions. Many of the relations between stress hormones, social partners, and behavior, observed in primates, have also been observed in guinea pigs. Therefore, guinea pigs are the subjects of these initial experiments. Proposed studies will: (1) document in detail changes that occur from infancy to adulthood in the ability of various classes of social companions to reduce hormonal stress responses; (2) examine how these changes correlate with developmental changes in behavior and social grouping tendencies; and, (3) determine if these developmental changes are due to rising levels of gonadal hormones at the time of puberty.Hormones have a huge impact on behavior and its development from infancy to adulthood. Puberty is the time of the most dramatic hormonal changes of all postnatal life. Yet with the exception of sexual behavior itself, surprisingly little is known about the effects of hormones on behavior during this important period. Proposed studies will provide basic information on how hormones of puberty influence the ability of social partners to moderate stress hormones and organize social behavior. Results will be of value to researchers examining how social support reduces various stress-related physiological responses at different portions of the life span. The proposed work will also further science education by involving undergraduate students planning careers in neuroscience.

在灵长类动物和其他哺乳动物的婴儿中，母亲的存在，而不是另一个熟悉的动物的存在，可以防止或减少对威胁条件的激素应激反应。这种母亲减少压力反应的选择性能力似乎在青春期后消失了，但其他同伴可能在大约同一时间获得这种能力。这些正常的发育变化可能影响物种的社会分组模式，并对理解人类如何应对压力条件具有启示意义。在灵长类动物身上观察到的应激激素、社会伙伴和行为之间的许多关系，在豚鼠身上也观察到了。因此，豚鼠是这些初始实验的对象。建议的研究将：(1)详细记录从婴儿期到成年期不同类型的社会伙伴减少激素应激反应的能力的变化；(2)研究这些变化与行为和社会群体倾向的发展变化之间的关系；(3)确定这些发育变化是否由于青春期性腺激素水平的上升。从婴儿期到成年期，激素对行为及其发展有着巨大的影响。青春期是所有产后生活中荷尔蒙变化最剧烈的时期。然而，除了性行为本身，令人惊讶的是，在这一重要时期，人们对激素对行为的影响知之甚少。拟议的研究将为青春期激素如何影响社会伙伴调节压力激素和组织社会行为的能力提供基本信息。研究结果将对研究社会支持如何在生命的不同阶段减少各种与压力相关的生理反应的研究人员有价值。这项提议的工作还将通过让本科生规划在神经科学领域的职业生涯来促进科学教育。