Role of Progesterone Receptor in Cortical Development

类固醇激素对发育中的大脑有戏剧性和永久性的影响。在睾丸激素以及大脑功能和成人行为性别差异发展的情况下，这一点得到了最好的研究。然而，哺乳动物的大脑在发育过程中也会接触到孕酮，可能来自母亲，这种激素可能会对大脑中与认知有关的区域产生深远的影响，比如大脑皮质。该项目的目标是检查孕酮受体蛋白在何时何地在胎儿和新生大鼠的大脑皮质中表达，以确定大脑何时可能对黄体酮的影响最敏感。为了更好地了解孕酮在皮质发育中的作用，该项目还将研究皮质中哪些特定类型的细胞在发育过程中对孕酮敏感，并将评估当孕酮的作用在关键发育时期被阻断时，这些细胞的发育在结构和功能方面是如何改变的。这个项目的结果可能会极大地改变我们对类固醇激素在皮质发育中的作用的看法。该项目将通过允许本科生，特别是少数族裔学生参与尖端研究，以确定类固醇激素如何重塑大脑，从而促进研究和教育的整合。

Steroid hormones have dramatic and permanent effects on the developing brain. This has been best studied in the case of testosterone and the development of sex differences in brain function and adult behavior. However, the mammalian brain is also exposed to progesterone, possibly from the mother, during development and this hormone may have profound effects on brain regions linked to cognition, such as the cortex. The goals of this project are to examine when and where receptor proteins for progesterone are expressed in the cortex of fetal and newborn rats, to determine when the brain might be most sensitive to progesterone's effects. To better understand the function of progesterone on cortical development this project will also examine what specific cell types in the cortex are sensitive to progesterone during development and will assess how the development of these cells is altered, in terms of their structure and function, when the effects of progesterone are blocked during critical developmental periods. Results from this project could dramatically change our thinking about the role of steroid hormones on the development of cortex. This project will facilitate the integration of research and education by allowing undergraduates, particularly minority students, to participate in cutting edge research to determine how steroid hormones remodel the brain.