Hormonal Control of an Avian Neuromuscular System

类固醇激素对大脑和行为有强大的影响。以前的研究已经研究了激素对圈养动物相对简单行为的影响。然而，野生动物经常表现出复杂的身体行为，我们对类固醇对控制这些行为的大脑和肌肉的影响知之甚少。本项目旨在研究一种具有非凡的杂技表演和极快的求偶表现的野生鸟类——雄性金领侏儒鸟。该实验室先前的研究已经确定了雄性翅膀肌肉、大脑和脊髓的解剖专门化是类固醇作用的部位。现在重要的是进行更多的行为学、生物化学和神经解剖学研究，以确定控制雄性和雌性鸟类行为的类固醇的身份，以及协调类固醇作用方式的社会条件。对这种不寻常行为的研究揭示了类固醇作用于脊椎动物神经肌肉系统的新机制。这一信息将更好地理解生殖激素如何影响神经回路和肌肉的发育和生长，同时也表明激素如何刺激脊椎动物神经肌肉系统的自然可塑性。本科生、研究生和博士后都将在这项资助下接受培训，包括来自中美洲的学生。

Steroid hormones have powerful effects on the brain and on behavior. Previous studies have examined hormone effects on relatively simple behaviors of animals in captivity. Animals in the wild, however, often perform complex physical behaviors and we know little about the effects of steroids on the brain and muscles that control such behaviors. This project is designed to investigate a wild bird with a remarkable acrobatic and exceedingly fast courtship display, the male golden-collared manakin. Previous studies from this laboratory have identified anatomical specializations of the male''s wing muscles, brain and spinal cord as sites of steroid action. It is important to now pursue additional behavioral, biochemical and neuroanatomical studies to determine the identity of the steroids that control behavior and the social conditions that coordinate the way steroids act in male and female birds. Studies of this unusual behavior stand to reveal novel mechanisms of steroid action on vertebrate neuromuscular systems. This information will provide a better understanding of how reproductive hormones influence the development and growth of neural circuits and muscles developmentally, but also to show how hormones can stimulate the natural plasticity of vertebrate neuromuscular systems. Undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students will all receive training under this grant, including students of Central American origin.