SYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION ON MICROFLORA OF THE GUT

NRSA将通过支持关于神经免疫过程在对应激情况的适应性反应中的作用的研究，促进我在行为神经科学方面的培训。具体地说，这些研究将调查交感神经系统(Sns)活动的个体差异如何导致胃肠道(Gi)系统功能的差异及其在应激状态下易受感染。SNS活性的增加可能会破坏肠道的保护性微生物群，为病原菌的定居创造一个允许的环境，从而导致胃肠道动态平衡的破坏和随后的肠道感染。这些问题将在具有不同行为和情绪气质的幼年恒河猴身上进行评估，此前已有研究表明，这些气质与不同的神经化学特征有关。该提案将测试肠道菌群是否与气质属性有关，如情绪反应/行为抑制，无论是在基线上还是通过评估这些猴子在6个月大时离开母亲和之后的唤起。最后，我将研究胃肠道微生物区系的改变是否会转化为对肠道病原体(如志贺氏菌)的易感性增加，从而导致对心理压力的不良反应。除了该项目的具体目标外，这项NRSA将使我能够通过威斯康星大学心理学系进一步接受心理生物学技术方面的研究生培训，获得行为神经科学博士学位。

The NRSA will facilitate my training in the behavioral neurosciences by supporting research on the role of neuroimmune processes in the adaptive response to stressful situations. Specifically, the studies will investigate how individual differences in sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity contribute to variation in the functioning of the gastrointestinal (gi) system and its vulnerability to infection during stress. Increased SNS activity may lead to disruption of gi homeostasis and subsequent enteric infection by disrupting the protective microflora of the gut, creating a permissive environment for colonization by pathogenic bacteria. These questions will be assessed in infant rhesus monkeys with different behavioral and emotional temperaments, previously shown to be associated with distinct neurochemical profiles. The proposal will test whether gut flora are associated with temperamental attributes, such as emotionally reactive/behaviorally inhibited, in both the baseline and aroused by assessing these monkeys while the mother and subsequent to removal from her at 6 months of age. Finally, I will investigate whether alterations in gi microflora translate into an increased susceptibility to enteric pathogens, such as Shigella, and thus lead to a maladative response to psychological stress. Beyond the specific goals of the project,, this NRSA will allow me to further my graduate training in psychobiological techniques leading to a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience through the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin.