Ei Terasawa, PhD - US grants

The goal of this Small Grant for Exploratory Research is to develop a reliable and sensitive push-pull perfusion technique to examine the physiological mechanisms of naturally-induced infertility in female Callitrichid Monkeys. Many species of these primates are highly endangered. In their specialized social system, subordinate females in groups in the wild and in the laboratory are kept infertile. Ovulation in subordinate females is suppressed while these females remain in the presence of a dominant female and help raise their offspring. Dr. Abbott has demonstrated that the physiological mechanism maintaining the infertile state of these subordinate females resides within the hypothalamic region of the brain. He will now develop a sophisticated technical procedure to measure neurotransmitters and hypothalamic hormones in the hypothalamus. The results will lead to a better understanding of how the social environment engages specific neural mechanisms to regulate female fertility. This could provide a better foundation for the development of reproductive techniques to accelerate the breeding of these rare monkeys in captivity and to improve the planning and management of re-introduction programs as well as improve the management of the remaining small number of monkeys living in the wilds of South American.

9315369 Terasawa This award supports the participation of 13 U.S. scientists in a U.S.-Japan Seminar on Cellular and Molecular Action of Steroid Hormones in the Brain, to be held in April 1994 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The co-organizers of the seminar are Professor Ei Terasawa, Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Professor Seiichiro Kawashima, Institute of Zoology, University of Tokyo. In addition to the scientists from the United States and Japan, there will also be participants from Canada and France. The research topic is very important and timely. The focus of the meeting is on recent progress in understanding the mechanism of action of gonadal steroids. Gonadal steroids influence neuronal cell differentiation, migration, and survival during the prenatal and perinatal period and therefore affect various brain functions, including cognitive function in later life. Gonadal steroids are also essential for maintenance of reproductive function and reproductive behavior. The seminar participants represent a broad range of expertise using a number of model systems and approaches. There has been no recent meeting that addresses this issue in neuroendocrinology. Thus, the seminar brings together a diverse set of outstanding researchers to present an update on an exciting and important area in neuroscience. ***

9909858
Handa

This award supports the participation of American scientists in a U.S.-Japan seminar on Neuroplasticity, Development and Steroid Hormone Action, to be held in Hawaii from September 29 to October 3, 2000. The co-organizers are Professors Robert Handa at Colorado State University, Boulder and Professor Shinji Hayashi at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Neuroscience in Japan. The focus of this seminar will be in elucidating the effects of steroid hormones on neuroplastic changes in the brain throughout the lifespan of the animal. The five major topics to be discussed include: 1) development and differentiation of the hypothalamus and LHRH neuronal systems; 2) steroid dependent brain differentiation; 3) central regulation of hormone secretion; 4) steroid hormones and neuroplasticity in the mature brain; and 5) steroid mediated mechanisms of cell growth and survival.

Steroid hormones are key modulators of the intercellular communications network used by the central nervous system. These simple hormones have the capacity to influence virtually all neural functions from the maintenance and organization of neurons and their connections during development to the activity and function of neurons in adulthood, to the death of neurons during aging and neuropathology. Steroid sensitive neural circuits are implicated in reproductive function, stress responses, emotion, aggression, cognition, activity, feeding and others. The Seminar organizers have made a special effort to involve younger researchers as both participants and observers. The exchange of ideas and data with Japanese experts in this field will enable U.S. participants to advance their own work, and will set the stage for future collaborative projects. It is anticipated that dissemination of proceedings of the meeting will be published in the journal "Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology. The information will also be available on the website http://lamar.colostate.edu/~bhanda/us-japan.htm.