CAREER: Linking behavioral development to neural plasticity in the medial amygdala

职业：将行为发展与内侧杏仁核的神经可塑性联系起来

• 批准号: 1253188
• 负责人: Bradley Cooke
• 金额: $ 65万
• 依托单位: Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-08-01 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1253188&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Linking; behavioral; development; neural

Puberty is a phase of life marked by dramatic behavioral change. During puberty, the reproductive axis matures causing gonadal steroid levels to rise well beyond what is normally seen in adulthood. Because of the profound emotional, cognitive, and social changes that occur during puberty, gonadal hormones must profoundly affect brain connectivity and function. What that impact is, however, is largely unknown. In this project, behavioral observation, electrophysiology, and neuropharmacology in rats will be used to identify the neural mechanisms that underlie the pubertal emergence of a discrete behavioral disposition: The attraction to the odors of the opposite sex. It is expected that testosterone will cause a specific excitatory synaptic connection within a brain region termed the amygdala to undergo long-term potentiation, i.e., an increase in synaptic efficacy. The potential impact of this work will be to identify the causal mechanisms that underlie the emergence of a discrete behavior, which has never before been accomplished in mammals or during puberty. The Data Management Plan involves the use of an electronic laboratory notebook, managed by LabArchives LLC, which permits the permanent off-site storage of all records, regardless of their format. Upon publication of the results, all data produced in conjunction with this project will be available to the public. To maximize the broader impacts of this work, teaching will be integrated with research by developing a course on Developmental Behavioral Neuroscience, comparing the efficacy of two teaching methods, and submitting our findings to a science education journal. Finally, the PIs will participate in the NET/Work program, which is a 2-year paid internship for talented undergraduates that enable them to gain hands-on research experience in University laboratories. Being the most racially diverse institution in Georgia's university system, NET/Work taps talented minority students and provides an entrée for them into Neuroscience.

青春期是一个以戏剧性的行为变化为标志的生命阶段。在青春期，生殖轴成熟，导致性腺类固醇水平上升远远超过通常在成年期看到的水平。由于青春期发生的深刻的情感，认知和社会变化，性腺激素必须深刻地影响大脑的连接和功能。然而，这种影响在很大程度上是未知的。在这个项目中，大鼠的行为观察，电生理学和神经药理学将被用来确定一个离散的行为倾向的青春期出现的神经机制：异性气味的吸引力。预计睾酮将导致称为杏仁核的脑区域内的特定兴奋性突触连接经历长时程增强，即，突触效能的增加。这项工作的潜在影响将是确定一种离散行为出现的因果机制，这种行为在哺乳动物或青春期从未完成过。数据管理计划涉及使用由LabArchives LLC管理的电子实验室笔记本，该笔记本允许永久性场外存储所有记录，无论其格式如何。结果公布后，与该项目有关的所有数据将向公众提供。为了最大限度地发挥这项工作的更广泛的影响，教学将与研究相结合，开发一门关于发展行为神经科学的课程，比较两种教学方法的功效，并将我们的研究结果提交给科学教育杂志。最后，PI将参加NET/Work计划，这是一个为期2年的带薪实习，为有才华的本科生，使他们能够在大学实验室获得实践研究经验。作为格鲁吉亚大学系统中种族最多样化的机构，NET/Work挖掘有才华的少数民族学生，并为他们提供进入神经科学的入口。