Physiological Bases for Long Term Effects of Winning

． 了解过去的经验如何塑造未来的行为是现代动物行为和神经生物学的基本挑战之一。要应对这一挑战，就需要对已知会影响特定行为的经历所引发的生理变化进行特征描述，例如男性与男性相遇时的攻击行为。研究表明，有两个因素会严重影响在遭遇中表达的攻击性强度：1)之前遭遇的结果，无论输赢；2)遭遇的地点，无论熟悉还是陌生。本研究的目标是研究获胜对未来遭遇的影响（赢家效应）的生理成分，以及与熟悉遭遇地点有关的攻击性的生理成分。具体来说，在竞争相互作用后观察到的睾酮变化的功能将被评估。此外，神经化学变化发生在响应短暂的睾酮变化将被记录。为了开始研究场地熟悉度在攻击强度中的作用，我们将比较居民-入侵者攻击（特定场地的攻击）和中立攻击（在中立场所的攻击）。我们预测神经化学利尿加压素与驻留入侵者攻击的关系比中性攻击更密切。一夫一妻制的高亲代加利福尼亚鼠（Peromyscus californicus）和滥交的低亲代白足鼠（P. leucopus）将被开发为模型系统，用于分析经验和攻击强度之间的相互作用。在这些研究中获得的信息可能为哺乳动物攻击强度可塑性的一些生理机制提供见解。

. LAY ABSTRACTUnderstanding how past experience shapes future behavior is one of the fundamental challenges for modern animal behavior and neurobiology. Meeting this challenge will require characterization of physiological changes triggered by experiences known to influence specific behaviors, such as aggression during male-male encounters. Two factors have been shown to critically influence the intensity of aggression expressed in an encounter: 1) the outcomes of previous encounters, whether won or lost, and 2) the location of the encounter, whether familiar or unfamiliar. It is the goal of the proposed work to examine the physiological components that contribute to the effect winning has on future encounters (winner effect), as well as those components that contribute to aggression associated with familiarity with the encounter location. Specifically, the function of observed changes in testosterone after competitive interactions will be evaluated. In addition, neurochemical changes that occur in response to transient changes in testosterone will be documented. To begin examining the role of site familiarity in the intensity of aggression, comparisons will be made between resident-intruder aggression (site-specific aggression) and neutral aggression (aggression in a neutral arena). It is predicted that the neurochemical vasopressin will be more closely associated with resident-intruder aggression than neutral aggression. The monogamous, highly parental Peromyscus californicus (California mouse), and the promiscuous, less parental P. leucopus (white-footed mouse) will be developed as model systems for this analysis of interactions between experience and intensity of aggression. Information obtained in these studies may provide insight into some of the physiological mechanisms underlying plasticity in the intensity of aggression in mammals.