RUI: Rapid Effects of Sex Steroids on Visual Processes Related to Social Communication

类固醇激素对社会行为有深远的影响，但这些影响通常是缓慢的，因为类固醇激活了开启和关闭基因的分子，而基因活动的变化需要很长时间才能对行为产生影响。然而，最近的研究表明，类固醇也可以通过更快速的机制影响行为，这种机制不依赖于与基因的相互作用。汤普森将通过迅速改变金鱼对世界的看法，特别是雌性的性刺激，来检验两种性类固醇--睾酮和雌二醇--影响雄性金鱼生殖行为的假设。该提案概述了一系列行为、电生理和神经解剖学实验，这些实验还将确定这些类固醇激素作用于大脑中产生行为影响的分子的种类。此外，该项目将确定大脑荷尔蒙在哪里产生这些影响。总之，这些实验将增加我们对类固醇激素影响行为的基本细胞机制的理解，特别是那些与生殖相关的机制。首席研究员将在鲍登学院的高级实验室课程中进行许多与这笔拨款相关的实验，为本科生提供有意义的研究经验。汤普森博士还将在鲍登学院(Bowdoin College)为高中教师及其学生团队教授一个神经科学暑期推广项目。随后，他的学生将在参与的老师的课堂上设置演讲。

Steroid hormones exert profound effects on social behavior, but those effects are typically slow because steroids activate molecules that turn genes on and off, and changes in gene activity take a long time to produce effects on behavior. However, it has recently been shown that steroids can also affect behavior through more rapid mechanisms that do not depend on interactions with genes. Thompson will test the hypothesis that two sex steroids, testosterone and estradiol, affect reproductive behavior in male goldfish by rapidly changing how goldfish see the world, particularly female sexual stimuli. The proposal outlines a series of behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroanatomical experiments that will also determine the kinds of molecules in the brain that these steroid hormones act upon to produce behavioral effects. Additionally, the project will identify where within the brain hormones produce those effects. Together, these experiments will increase our understanding of the fundamental cellular mechanisms through which steroid hormones affect behavior, particularly those related to reproduction. The principal investigator will perform many experiments related to this grant in an upper level laboratory course at Bowdoin College, providing meaningful research experiences to undergraduate students. Dr. Thompson will also teach a summer neuroscience outreach program at Bowdoin College for teams of high school teachers and their students. This will be followed by his students setting up presentations in the classes of teachers who have participated.