Circadian and telemetry equipment for behavioural assessment of eusocial mammals

我的研究调查了社交互动如何控制成年哺乳动物大脑的结构和功能变化，这种现象被称为成年神经可塑性。为了做到这一点，我研究了裸鼠，它在哺乳动物中表现出最严格的生殖和社会等级。这些动物生活在大型的社会群体中，繁殖仅限于一只雌性和1-3只雄性；这些繁殖者在社会上支配着所有其他动物，称为从属动物。我已经证明，社会地位从从属到主导的转变会触发裸露的鼹鼠大脑的形态和蛋白质表达的变化。这项拟议的研究将通过评估社会互动如何影响这些独特的社会性动物的24小时节律(称为昼夜节律；例如，睡眠-醒来周期)来扩展这些发现。由于社会互动可以影响其他物种的昼夜节律，反过来，昼夜节律调节行为和生理，因此了解昼夜节律如何影响社会诱导的大脑可塑性是至关重要的。昼夜节律和遥测设备，以及用于精确控制光线和温度的橱柜，将使我能够通过各种社会、光线和温度操作来监控这些动物的活动和体温节律。最终，这项工作将揭示严格的社会等级制度如何控制哺乳动物的昼夜节律，进而揭示昼夜节律如何参与决定社会地位如何改变大脑。这项研究将丰富我的社会神经科学领域和加拿大的研究环境，同时致力于行为和神经可塑性的社会控制方面的开创性工作，并为高素质的人员提供独特的培训环境，最终提高加拿大作为神经科学研究中心的领先地位。

My research investigates how social interactions control structural and functional changes in the adult mammalian brain, a phenomenon called adult neural plasticity. To do this, I study naked mole-rats, which exhibit the strictest reproductive and social hierarchies among mammals. These animals live in large social colonies where reproduction is limited to a single female and 1-3 males; these breeders are socially dominant over all other animals, called subordinates. I have demonstrated that a transition in social status from subordinate to dominant triggers changes in morphology and protein expression in the naked mole-rat brain. The proposed research will extend on these findings by evaluating how social interactions affect the 24 hour rhythms (called circadian rhythms; e.g., sleep-wake cycle) of these uniquely social animals. Because social interactions can influence circadian rhythms in other species and, conversely, circadian rhythms regulate behaviour and physiology, it is critical to understand how circadian rhythms influence socially-induced brain plasticity. The circadian and telemetry equipment, in conjunction with cabinets for precise control of light and temperature, will allow me to monitor the activity and body temperature rhythms of these animals across various social, light, and temperature manipulations. Ultimately, this work will reveal how strict social hierarchies control circadian rhythms in mammals and, in turn, how circadian rhythms may be involved in determining how social status changes the brain. This research will enrich my field of Social Neuroscience and the research environment in Canada by simultaneously pursuing ground breaking work on social control of behavioural and neural plasticity and providing a unique training environment for highly qualified personnel, ultimately raising the profile of Canada as a leading center for neuroscience research.