Neurobiology of Social Behavior

本项目将研究控制叙利亚仓鼠（Mesocricetus auratus）社会行为的神经和内分泌机制。有大量证据表明，精氨酸-抗利尿激素（AVP）在从内侧视前区延伸到下丘脑前部（称为MPOA-AH）的区域内的作用在一种称为侧翼标记的气味标记形式的表达中起着关键作用。理解控制侧翼标记和攻击等社会行为的神经生物学机制，需要定义控制这些行为的神经/激素机制，以及经验如何改变这些机制，从而使这些行为不断适应不断变化的环境。本实验将验证经验通过对MPOA-AH内AVP受体的影响来改变侧翼标记和攻击的表达这一工作假设。这一假设将通过检查两种对气味标记和攻击有显著影响但又截然不同的体验的影响来验证。首先，我们将确定社会经验（即先前的激动性遭遇）是否会改变这些受体，并将测试睾丸激素依赖和睾丸激素独立机制介导这些影响的预测。其次，我们将确定环境经验（即暴露于类似冬季的短光周期）是否会改变这些受体，并将测试睾丸激素独立机制介导这些影响的预测。我们相信，分析这些不同类型的经历对这些AVP受体的影响，将为我们的假设提供一个严格的初步测试，即这些受体代表了控制气味标记和攻击的关键调节位点。这些数据应该为神经和内分泌机制如何控制复杂社会行为的基本原理提供新的见解。这一信息对于理解各种行为和情绪障碍的病因以及开发这些疾病的新治疗方法至关重要。

This project will investigate the neural and endocrine mechanisms that control social behavior in Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). There is a substantial body of evidence that the actions of arginine-vasopressin (AVP) within a zone that extends from the medial preoptic area to the anterior hypothalamus (referred to as the MPOA-AH) plays a critical role in the expression of a form of scent marking called flank marking as well as aggression. Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms controlling social behaviors like flank marking and aggression requires definition of the neural/hormonal mechanisms that control these behaviors as well as how experience changes these mechanisms so that these behaviors are continuously adjusted to the changing environment. The proposed experiments will test the working hypothesis that experience alters the expression of flank marking and aggression by its effects on AVP receptors within the MPOA-AH. This hypothesis will be tested by examining the effects of two types of experience that have significant, yet very different effects on scent marking and aggression. First, we will determine whether social experience (i.e. prior agonistic encounters) alters these receptors and will test the prediction that a testosterone-dependent as well as a testosterone-independent mechanism mediates these effects. Second, we will determine whether environmental experience (i.e. exposure to winter-like short photoperiods) alters these receptors and will test the prediction that a testosterone-independent mechanism mediates these effects. We believe that analysis of the effects of such different types of experience on these AVP receptors will provide a rigorous initial test of our hypothesis that these receptors represent a critical regulatory site in the control of scent marking and aggression. These data should provide new insights into the basic principles that govern how neural and endocrine mechanisms control complex social behaviors. This information is critically important for understanding the etiology of a variety of behavioral and emotional disorders as well as the development of new treatments for these disorders.