CAREER: Opioid-dopamine interactions and pair bonding

对于包括我们自己在内的许多物种来说，社会纽带对于生物和心理功能的许多方面都是必不可少的。因此，理解社会关系背后的神经科学是至关重要的。这个项目将通过利用行为、神经解剖学和神经化学对社会性一夫一妻制草原田鼠的配对纽带的评估来检验社会纽带的神经生物学。这些实验将确定内源性阿片系统如何与大脑回路中的多巴胺信号相互作用，这些回路对形成和维持配对纽带的奖励和动机至关重要。此外，该项目将利用草原田鼠模型中最先进的神经化学测量技术(快速扫描循环伏安法)，进一步评估阿片-多巴胺相互作用在配对结合中的作用。在智力和技术层面上，这些研究的结果预计将对几个生物学领域产生巨大影响。这项工作专注于社会纽带的神经科学，旨在加强我们对生殖、与行为相关的学习和记忆以及调节社会纽带的神经机制的进化起源的理解。重要的是，健全的教学计划将转化为课堂(研究生和本科生)，并影响这些信息随后将如何到达公共领域。最后，该项目为研究生和本科生提供了出色的培训机会，揭示了学生将如何在实验室接受培训的细节，并强调通过招募和培训妇女和代表性不足的少数群体进入该实验室，促进神经科学的多样性。

For many species, including our own, social bonding is essential for numerous aspects of biological and psychological function. Therefore, it is critical to understand the neuroscience underlying social bonding. This project will examine the neurobiology of social bonding by utilizing behavioral, neuroanatomical, and neurochemical assessments of pair bonding in the socially monogamous prairie vole. The experiments will determine how the endogenous opioid systems interact with dopamine signaling in brain circuitry important for reward and motivation underlying pair bond formation and maintenance. Additionally, the project will capitalize on state-of-the-art neurochemical measurement technology (fast-scan cyclic voltammetry) in the prairie vole model to further assess the role of opioid-dopamine interactions in pair bonding. On both intellectual and technical levels, results from these studies are expected to have a tremendous impact on several biological fields. This work focuses on the neuroscience of social bonding, is poised to enhance our understanding of reproduction, ethologically relevant learning and memory, as well as the evolutionary origins of neural mechanisms that mediate social bonding. Importantly, the robust teaching plans will translate into the classroom (at both the graduate and undergraduate levels) and impact how this information will subsequently reach the public domain. Finally, this project provides outstanding training opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students, revealing details on how students will be trained in the laboratory and placing an emphasis on promoting diversity in neuroscience by the recruitment and training of women and underrepresented minorities into this laboratory.