Neuroendocrine Regulation of Behavioral Differences

行为差异的神经内分泌调节

• 批准号: 0742833
• 负责人: Juli Wade
• 金额: $ 65万
• 依托单位: Michigan State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-06-01 至 2015-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0742833&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Neuroendocrine; Regulation; Behavioral; Differences

This project will investigate the mechanisms that create behavioral differences in responsiveness to testosterone. These differences exist at multiple levels even in a single species, including behavioral function, the size of muscles, and parts of the nervous system that generate the behaviors. For example, in green anole lizards, this hormone facilitates reproductive behaviors in males more so than in females, and within males to a greater degree in the breeding than during the non-breeding season. Testosterone also increases the sizes of some reproductive structures, but not others, and among those it affects, the response is greatest during the breeding season. Experiments are designed to test the ideas that these differences in anatomy and behavior are due to one or more specific factors, including the availability of a priming hormone, estradiol, in the brain, and the expression of one or more of four specific genes. Thus, behavioral, anatomical, hormonal and molecular approaches are used to enhance the understanding of what determines whether and to what degree a hormone will act. This work will provide novel information on this basic biological phenomenon, which is not yet sufficiently understood, in part because the lizards to be used provide a uniquely large set of structures and functions across which the information can be carefully integrated. Since very little work of this kind is conducted in reptiles, it will also provide a new comparative, evolutionary perspective. The research is conducted by students at multiple career stages: undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral students, under direct mentorship of the Principal Investigator. At present, all of these individuals are women, thus impacting future generations of scientists and these woman, in turn, will be role models for other women in the neurosciences.

这个项目将调查在对睾酮的反应中产生行为差异的机制。 这些差异存在于多个层面，甚至在一个单一的物种，包括行为功能，肌肉的大小，以及神经系统的部分，产生的行为。 例如，在绿色变色蜥蜴中，这种激素促进雄性比雌性的生殖行为，并且在繁殖季节比非繁殖季节更能促进雄性的生殖行为。 特内里费还增加了一些生殖结构的大小，但不是其他的，在那些它影响，反应是最大的繁殖季节。 实验旨在测试这些解剖学和行为上的差异是由于一个或多个特定因素造成的想法，包括大脑中启动激素雌二醇的可用性，以及四个特定基因中的一个或多个的表达。 因此，行为，解剖，激素和分子的方法被用来提高什么决定激素是否和在什么程度上将发挥作用的理解。 这项工作将提供有关这一基本生物现象的新信息，但人们对这一现象尚未充分了解，部分原因是所使用的蜥蜴提供了一组独特的大量结构和功能，可以仔细整合这些信息。 由于在爬行动物中进行的这类工作很少，它也将提供一个新的比较，进化的视角。 该研究由多个职业阶段的学生进行：本科生，研究生和博士后学生，在首席研究员的直接指导下。 目前，所有这些人都是女性，从而影响了未来几代科学家，这些女性反过来将成为神经科学领域其他女性的榜样。