Neurobiology of female sexual health

女性性健康的神经生物学

• 批准号: 10292015
• 负责人: Sarah Meerts
• 金额: $ 39.59万
• 依托单位: CARLETON COLLEGE
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-17 至 2024-09-16
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10292015
• 关键词: Affect; Amygdaloid structure; Animal Behavior; Animal Model; Animals; Arousal; Back; Behavior; Behavior Control; Behavioral Paradigm; Blood flow; Communication; Communities; Cues; Data; Data Analyses; Development; Disease; Dose; Emotional; Ensure; Epithelial; Estrogen Receptors; Exhibits; FOS gene; Feedback; Female; Fostering; Future; Genital; Genitalia; Goals; Health; Human; Immunofluorescence Microscopy; Impairment; Individual; Lesion; Lubrication; Maps; Medial; Mediating; Medical; Modeling; Morphine; Morphology; Motivation; Nerve; Neurobiology; Neurons; Operative Surgical Procedures; Opiate Addiction; Opioid; Opioid Receptor; Partner in relationship; Pattern; Pelvis; Peripheral; Personal Satisfaction; Pharmacology; Physiological; Positioning Attribute; Pre-Clinical Model; Prevalence; Process; Quality of life; Rattus; Research; Research Personnel; Rewards; Science; Sensory; Sex Behavior; Sex Functioning; Sexual Arousal; Sexual Dysfunction; Sexual Health; Stimulus; Structure; Students; System; Techniques; Testing; Tissues; Underrepresented Populations; Vagina; Withdrawal; Woman; classical conditioning; college; conditioning; effective therapy; experience; experimental study; grasp; innovation; interest; male; mating behavior; novel; pleasure; preference; prevent; relating to nervous system; response; satisfaction; sensory input; skills; therapy development; undergraduate student; willingness

Project Summary Sexual health contributes to women’s quality of life, emotional connections, and physical pleasure but understanding of female sexual function is woefully limited. Sexual desire, the interest and willingness to engage in sexual behavior, sexual arousal, the physiological response of the genitals, and sexual satisfaction, the aspects of sexual activity that promote future sexual interest, are overlapping aspects of female sexual function that feed back on each other to support sexual health. Human sexual behavior can be mapped onto these constructs, as can sexual behavior in rats, which enables experimental behavioral manipulation that would not be possible in humans. The PI and her students have established a preclinical model of enhanced sexual behavior in female rats, in which female rats exhibit heightened sexual desire, arousal, and satisfaction. This novel model of experience-enhanced sexual behavior in female rats will be used to better understand neural and peripheral factors that drive heightened sexual behavior. The specific goals of this proposal are to 1) determine whether activity in the posterodorsal medial amygdala during mating is key for experience-enhanced sexual behavior and motivation in female rats; 2) test whether opioid-mediated reward underlies conditioned preference for a single mating interaction in sexually experienced female rats; 3) establish whether opioid reward systems are sensitized in sexually experienced female rats by assessing cross- sensitization of mating and morphine; and 4) explore vaginal and clitoral morphology in rats that show enhanced mating behavior. The research team’s approach to sexual behavior from a position of health is innovative and will provide a better grasp of the neural and physiological systems that promote future sexual interest to help establish effective therapies for female sexual dysfunction. Furthermore, this proposal will enhance research opportunities at Carleton College. Undergraduate students will participate in a broad spectrum of techniques thereby acquiring skills in animal behavior, small animal surgery, immunofluorescence, microscopy, pharmacological manipulations, data analysis, and science communication. The PI takes steps to ensure underrepresented populations are invited to become student researchers in her lab and to foster a sense of belonging within the lab community.

项目摘要 性健康有助于女性的生活质量，情感联系和身体健康。 但对女性性功能的了解却非常有限。性欲 性行为的兴趣和意愿，性唤起，生理反应， 生殖器和性满足，性活动的方面，促进未来的性行为， 兴趣，是女性性功能的重叠方面，相互反馈， 支持性健康。人类的性行为可以映射到这些结构上， 大鼠的性行为，这使得实验行为操纵， 可能在人类。PI和她的学生已经建立了一个临床前模型， 雌性大鼠的性行为，其中雌性大鼠表现出增强的性欲，性唤起， 和满足感这种雌性大鼠经验增强性行为的新模型将是 用于更好地了解驱动性行为增强的神经和外周因素。 该建议的具体目标是：1）确定后背侧的活动是否 在交配过程中，内侧杏仁核是增强性行为和性动机的关键 在雌性大鼠中; 2）测试阿片类药物介导的奖励是否是条件偏好的基础， 在有性经验的雌性大鼠中的单一交配相互作用; 3）确定阿片类药物是否 奖励系统是敏感的性经验的雌性大鼠通过评估交叉， 交配和吗啡的致敏作用; 4）探索大鼠阴道和阴蒂的形态学 表现出更强的交配行为研究小组从一个角度研究性行为， 健康的立场是创新的，将提供一个更好的把握神经和生理 促进未来性兴趣的系统，以帮助建立有效的治疗方法， 性功能障碍此外，该提案将增加卡尔顿的研究机会 学院本科生将参与广泛的技术，从而 获得动物行为，小动物手术，免疫荧光，显微镜， 药理学操作、数据分析和科学交流。PI采取措施 以确保未被充分代表的人群被邀请成为她实验室的学生研究员 并培养实验室社区的归属感。