Progesterone and the Neural Mechanisms of Behavior

孕酮是一种重要的类固醇激素，调节生理的许多方面。它对行为也有很多影响。德博德博士之前获得的NSF拨款的研究结果表明，孕激素可以通过直接作用于大脑中的两个特定部位，一个在前脑，一个在中脑，从而影响行为。本奖项的主要目标是确定黄体酮如何在中脑的目标位置影响行为。类固醇激素通常通过进入细胞，与细胞内的受体结合来发挥作用，然后类固醇受体复合体作用于染色体上的特定位置，改变细胞合成的蛋白质。几乎在每个对类固醇激素有反应的细胞中都发现了这种作用机制。然而，在中脑，黄体酮似乎通过不同的机制发挥作用。一种不能进入细胞的黄体酮可以在中脑有效，尽管它在其他地方不活跃。将测试黄体酮通过神经细胞膜对行为相关行为的影响。介导这一作用的特定蛋白质将被确定。拟议的研究将证明一种类固醇激素的替代作用机制。这项工作将有助于了解荷尔蒙如何作用于调节行为。

Progesterone is an important steroid hormone for regulating many aspects of physiology. It also has a number of effects on behavior. The research findings from Dr. DeBold's previous NSF grant showed that progesterone can affect behavior through direct action on two specific sites in the brain, one in the forebrain and one in the midbrain. The primary objective of the present award is to determine how progesterone acts at its target site in the midbrain to influence behavior. Steroid hormones generally exert their effects by entering cells, binding with a receptor inside the cell, and then the steroid-receptor complex acts on specific sites on the chromosomes to change the proteins that the cell synthesizes. This mechanism of action has been found in virtually every cell that responds to steroid hormones. In the midbrain, however, progesterone appears to have its effect through a different mechanism. A form of progesterone which cannot enter cells can be effective in the midbrain, although it is inactive elsewhere. The effect of progesterone on behaviorally-relevant actions via neuronal membranes will be tested. The specific protein which mediates this action will be determined. The proposed studies will demonstrate an alternative mechanism of action for one class of steroid hormones. This work will contribute to knowledge about how hormones act to regulate behavior.