MULTISYNAPTIC STUDY OF GABA AND ESTROGEN

前倾姿势是雌性大鼠在交配行为中对雄性大鼠侧腹刺激的一种性别特异性、激素依赖性反射。由于前凸依赖于激素信号，因此被广泛应用于研究内分泌控制行为的机制。尽管许多研究都集中在将激素信号转导到产生行为的神经冲动的神经回路上，但技术上的限制阻碍了对发生在该通路各个节点上的信息处理的详细分析。通过应用跨神经元示踪剂，伪狂犬病毒，我打算确定神经元群体，特别是在导水管周围灰质（PAG），这与前凸的体细胞控制有关。具体来说，本提案中描述的研究将解决有关雌激素和GABA在该网络中相互作用的确切位置的问题。

The lordosis posture is a sex-specific, hormone-dependant reflex displayed by the female rat in response to flank stimulation by the male rat during copulatory behavior. Because of its dependence on hormonal cues, lordosis has been widely used as an opportunity to study the mechanism of endocrine control of behavior. Although numerous studies have focused on the neural circuitry that transduces hormonal cues to the neural impulses that produce the behavior, technical limitations have prevented a detailed analysis of the information processing that occurs at individual nodes of the pathway. By applying the transneuronal tracer, pseudorabies virus, I intend to identify populations of neurons, particularly in the periaqueductal gray (PAG), which are relevant to the somatic control of lordosis. Specifically, the studies described in this proposal will address questions regarding the exact site(s) of estrogen and GABA interactions within this network.