DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Circadian Regulation of Female Reproductive Endocrinology

在过去的30年里，人们已经清楚地认识到，女性的生殖周期，包括排卵的时间，既取决于来自卵巢的激素信号（如雌二醇、黄体酮），也取决于来自大脑内部生物钟的精确定时信号——视交叉上核（SCN）；如果没有SCN，动物就会停止排卵，生物钟紊乱（如改变光照时间表，如时差）会导致生殖障碍。SCN在排卵中的重要性是清楚的，但SCN如何连接并与生殖中心沟通仍不清楚。利用特定的光照时间表挑战老鼠的生物钟，研究人员现在正在构建第一张将SCN“生物钟”与生殖系统联系起来的地图。这张大脑图谱将包括SCN内负责排卵定时信号的特定细胞，它们连接的生殖大脑中心，以及这些连接中使用的化学信号。如果成功，这张图谱将提供一个更全面的了解排卵是如何由大脑控制的，以及SCN时钟是如何通过大脑控制其他时间事件的。这项研究不仅将回答生物钟如何控制排卵的问题，而且还将进一步加深我们对大脑如何控制女性生殖的一般认识，为这些领域开辟更多的问题。参与的研究人员有科学推广活动的历史。他们帮助组织和运行三个大脑意识周年度节日，每个节日都将500多名当地K-12学生带到华盛顿大学校园，参加一天的讲座、教育游戏和互动展览。在过去的两年里，研究人员已经对西雅图当地的公立、私立和特殊需要学校的教室进行了12次访问，在那里他们让潜在的未来科学家接触到行为神经科学研究。根据这些经验，他们开发了免费的在线课程计划，以帮助其他科学家和教育工作者。迄今为止，该网站已有3000多名访问者下载了这些计划。

Over the last 30 years, it has become clear that female reproductive cycles, including the timing of ovulation, depend on a both hormonal signals from the ovaries (e.g. estradiol, progesterone), and on precise timing signals from the brain's internal, daily clock - the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN); without an SCN, animals stop ovulating, and disturbances of the clock (e.g. shifting light schedules, such as in jetlag) cause reproductive disorders. The importance of the SCN in ovulation is clear, but how the SCN connects to and communicates with reproductive centers remains unknown. Using specific light schedules that challenge the clock of rats, researchers are now constructing the first map linking the SCN "clock" to the reproductive system. This brain map will include specific cells within the SCN responsible for the timing signals of ovulation, the reproductive brain centers they connect to, and the chemical signals used in these connections. If successful, this map will provide a more complete understanding of how ovulation is controlled by the brain, as well as how the SCN clock controls other timing events through the brain. The study will not only answer the question of how the clock controls ovulation, but it will also further our general knowledge of how the brain controls female reproduction, opening further questions for these fields.The researchers involved have a history of scientific outreach activities. They help to organize and run three Brain Awareness Week annual festivals, each bringing 500+ local K-12 students to the University of Washington campus for a day of lectures and educational games and interactive exhibits. Over the past two years, the researchers have made twelve visits to local Seattle classrooms in public, private and special needs schools, where they exposed potential future scientists to behavioral neuroscience research. From these experiences they have developed free on-line lesson plans to help other scientists and educators, which to date have been downloaded by more than 3,000 visitors to the web site.