Hormonal Interactions in a Vertebrate Forebrain Pathway

该项目的总体目标是促进对影响脊椎动物学习和行为的神经可塑性（大脑结构和功能的变化）季节性变化的神经和分子机制的理解。更具体地说，这个项目将产生对褪黑激素在鸣禽大脑前脑发声控制回路中的作用机制的理解。这将通过在欧洲椋鸟中通过分子和组织学技术确定特定褪黑激素受体亚型的位置来实现。这些实验还将确定褪黑激素受体亚型调节的神经解剖学特异性，并探讨不同亚型在歌唱回路中具有不同功能的可能性。目前尚不清楚激素如何在大脑中相互作用，本项目利用综合方法，旨在加强对不同类别的激素（褪黑激素、睾丸激素）如何相互作用，对神经结构和功能产生直接和间接影响的理解，并随后影响学习和行为输出。所有被研究的脊椎动物都有褪黑激素受体，所有脊椎动物在神经系统的发育中都使用类固醇激素。因此，了解这些激素和褪黑激素受体相互作用的基本细胞机制是普遍有益的。这些实验不仅将增强我们对大脑中激素作用的理解，而且还将为美国和英国实验室的本科生、研究生和博士后提供独特的培训机会。

The overall aim of this project is to advance the understanding of the neural and molecular mechanisms underlying seasonal changes in neuroplasticity (changes in brain structure and function), that influence learning and behavior in vertebrates. More specifically, this project will yield an understanding of the mechanisms of action of the hormone melatonin in a forebrain vocal control circuit of the songbird brain. This will be achieved by identifying the locations of specific melatonin receptor subtypes via molecular and histological techniques in the European starling. These experiments will also identify the neuroanatomical specificity of the regulation of melatonin receptor subtypes, and investigate the probability that different subtypes have different functions in the song circuit. It is unclear how hormones interact with one another in the brain, and this project utilizes an integrative approach aimed at enhancing understanding of how hormones of different classes (melatonin, testosterone) can interact to exert direct and indirect effects on neural structure and function, and subsequently impact learning and behavioral output. All vertebrates studied possess melatonin receptors, and all vertebrates utilize steroid hormones in the development of their nervous systems. Thus, understanding the basic cellular mechanisms of the interactions of these hormones and melatonin receptors is universally beneficial. Not only will these experiments enhance our understanding of hormone action in the brain, but it will also provide unique training opportunities for undergraduates, graduate students and a postdoctoral fellow in laboratories in the USA and the UK.