GROWTH HORMONE RESPONSIVENESS AND BEHAVIORAL AFFECT

描述(改编自申请人的摘要)：这项工作的总体目标 项目是确定生长激素(GH)的反应性是否是一种 生理变量可以用来识别谁是 容易发展成情感障碍的。钝化生长激素 对刺激的反应是最可靠的生理学方法之一 与情感障碍有关。然而，目前尚不清楚迟钝的生长激素 响应性是一个人的固有特征，或者是它 出现在行为障碍发作之后。潜在的机制 生长激素反应迟钝也是未知的。是不可能的 对人类受试者进行这样的研究；然而，非人类灵长类动物 在发育早期没有母亲的情况下，他们经常表现出 类似于抑郁症和焦虑症，因此提供了一种 合适的动物模型。在本提案中，GH响应性将是 在猴子出生后不久进行测量，以及猴子是否 生长激素反应低的人更有可能表现出行为异常 当他们在母亲不在的情况下长大时，与有 高生长激素响应性将得到解决。这项提案还将审查 是否钝化生长激素反应，是由于生长激素水平下降所致 由于生长激素释放激素的营养支持或生长抑素的增加而导致的脑垂体 脑下垂体的抑制性输入。随后定义了 神经内分泌系统将解释迟钝的生长激素反应 识别构成改变的生长激素的神经系统的第一步 响应性，这也可能是发展的基础 情感障碍。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from applicant's abstract): The overall goal of this project is to determine if growth hormone (GH) responsiveness is a physiological variable which may serve to identify individuals who are predisposed to the development of affective disorders. Blunted GH responsiveness to stimulation is one of the most reliable physiological correlates to affective disorders. However, it is not known if blunted GH responsiveness is an inherent characteristic of an individual, or whether it emerges after the onset of behavioral disorders. The mechanisms underlying the blunted GH responsiveness are also unknown. It is not possible to perform such studies with human subjects; however, nonhuman primates raised without their mothers during early development often display behaviors similar to those seen with depression and anxiety, and thus provide an appropriate animal model. In this proposal, GH responsiveness will be measured in monkeys shortly after birth, and the question of whether monkeys with low GH responses are more likely to display behavioral abnormalities when raised in the absence of their mothers, compared to individuals with high GH responsiveness will be addressed. This proposal will also examine whether blunted GH responsiveness, results from decreased levels of GH in the pituitary, due to trophic support of GHRH or increased somatostatin inhibitory input to the pituitary. Subsequent definition of the neuroendocrine system accounting for blunted GH responsiveness will then be the first step in identifying neural systems that underlie the altered GH responsiveness, which may also underlie a predisposition for the development of affective disorders.