Ovarian Hormones and Cognition

卵巢激素与认知

• 批准号: RGPIN-2022-04690
• 负责人: Brake, Wayne
• 金额: $ 3.42万
• 依托单位: Concordia University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=763963
• 关键词: Ovarian; Hormones; Cognition

In the past century of neuroscience research, almost all mammalian studies have used males exclusively. We now know that there can be subtle differences between the male and female brain as there can be subtle differences in how men and women think. Our research program aims to determine how ovarian hormones interact within areas of the brain that are important for learning and memory. We use rat models to examine which neural pathways are important for the actions of estrogens and progesterone. We are also interested in how these hormones affect which approach a female uses to solve a task. A person, or a rat, can use one of two memory systems to find out how to get somewhere. They can envision a map of the area and use that to help navigate to where they want to go. If it is a place where they have been often, then they may instead use a series of habitual turns to get there. Which of these strategies is used depends on how often they have been to that place, and in females, depends of what their levels of estrogens and progesterone are. We have discovered that the approach used depends on an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex. In this grant we intend to discover which proteins in the prefrontal cortex bind to estrogens and progesterone. We will also examine the neuronal pathways involved that determine how we solve a maze, to get to a destination. Together, this research will reveal how ovarian hormones affect cognition, specifically the strategy used to find a destination. It will also address a century of neglect of research into the female brain.

在过去一个世纪的神经科学研究中，几乎所有的哺乳动物研究都只使用雄性。我们现在知道，男性和女性的大脑可能会有细微的差异，因为男性和女性的思维方式可能会有细微的差异。我们的研究项目旨在确定卵巢激素在大脑中对学习和记忆重要的区域是如何相互作用的。我们使用大鼠模型来检查哪些神经通路对雌激素和黄体酮的作用是重要的。我们还对这些荷尔蒙如何影响女性解决任务的方式感兴趣。一个人，或一只老鼠，可以使用两种记忆系统中的一种来找出如何到达某个地方。他们可以想象该地区的地图，并使用它来帮助导航到他们想去的地方。如果这是一个他们经常去的地方，那么他们可能会使用一系列习惯性的转弯来到达那里。这些策略中的哪一种取决于她们去过那个地方的频率，而对于女性来说，取决于她们的雌激素和孕激素水平。我们发现，使用的方法取决于大脑中一个叫做前额叶皮质的区域。在这项资助中，我们打算发现前额叶皮质中的哪些蛋白质与雌激素和黄体酮结合。我们还将研究决定我们如何解决迷宫、到达目的地的神经通路。总而言之，这项研究将揭示卵巢激素如何影响认知，特别是寻找目的地所使用的策略。它还将解决一个世纪以来忽视对女性大脑的研究的问题。