TERMINAL NERVE--ONTOGENY, CIRCUITRY, AND FUNCTION

终末神经（TN）是位于大脑中的神经节化神经。 所有脊椎动物的鼻腔和喙部颅内腔。 的 TN内LHRH样肽的存在和TN的表观 与化学感受和生殖神经靶点的联系 (and某些物种的视网膜），表明TN可能 协调知觉、神经内分泌和行为事件 从而导致成功的交配行为 我们先前已经 显示TN的病变损害了 雄性仓鼠 这些赤字发生的机制并不 知道的 我们的解剖学数据表明TN与 在仓鼠的犁鼻系统中广泛存在， 调节行为和其他生理事件， 后一种制度。 然而，在亚哺乳动物物种中， 似乎有相当不同的解剖投影内 鼻腔和大脑。 因此，比较研究的方法 TN可以帮助我们形成关于TN的一般假设 功能 本研究的目的是：1）进一步研究 TN在生殖行为中可能发挥的作用， 雄性和雌性仓鼠的神经内分泌反应， （2）进一步研究TN的解剖和发育 详细 更好地理解了 TN和其他神经结构，如嗅上皮 和视网膜，我们可以更好地理解这一机制， 神经可能会影响动物的行为。 实验追踪 神经的投射，并检查其发展， 提出了超微结构特征。 此外该 TN病变对性行为、神经内分泌 对信息素刺激的反应和对肽含量的影响 将研究神经靶组织。 由于TN可能 代表了从鼻腔到生殖器官的直接途径 大脑的各个区域，这一领域的研究可能会进一步促进我们的 了解化学感受信息如何影响 正常和异常疾病状态下的生殖。

The terminal nerve (TN) is a ganglionated nerve located in the nasal and rostral intracranial cavities of all vertebrates. The presence of LHRH-like peptide within the TN and the TN's apparent connections with chemosensory and reproductive neural targets (and the retina in some species), suggests that the TN may coordinate the perceptual, neuroendo-crine and behavioral events which lead to a successful copulatory act. We have previously shown that lesions of the TN impair the mating behavior of the male hamster. The mechanism by which these deficits occur is not known. Our anatomical data suggest that the TN interacts extensively with the vomeronasal system in the hamster and may modulate behavior and other physiological events by influencing this latter system. However, in sub-mammalian species the TN appears to have quite different anatomical projections within the nasal cavity and brain. Thus a comparative approach to studying the TN might aid us in formulating a general hypothesis on TN function. The goals of the proposed research are 1) to investigate further the role which the TN might play in reproductive behavior and neuroendocrine responses in both the male and female hamsters, and 2) to examine the anatomy and development of the TN in more detail. With a better understanding of the connections between the TN and other neural structures, such as olfactory epithelium and retina, we can better understand the mechanism by which this nerve may affect the animal's behavior. Experiments to trace the projections of the nerve and to examine its development and ultrastructural characteristics are proposed. In addition, the effects of TN lesions on sexual behavior, on neuroendocrine responses to pheromonal stimulation and on peptide content in neural target tissues will be investigated. Since the TN may represent a direct pathway from the nasal cavity to reproductive areas of the brain, research in this area may further our understanding of how chemosensory information may influence reproduction in normal and abnormal disease states.