2004 |
Cooke, Bradley M |
F32Activity Code Description: To provide postdoctoral research training to individuals to broaden their scientific background and extend their potential for research in specified health-related areas. |
Sexual Differentiation of the Medial Amygdala @ Northwestern University
[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this work is an understanding of how steroid hormones influence the development of connections within a sexually dimorphic forebrain nucleus, the posterodorsal subnucleus of the medial amygdala (MeApd). My hypothesis is that the high levels of androgens present in neonatal male rats act on the MeApd to modify its synaptic architecture. We will test this using whole-cell voltage clamp recording of synaptic currents and electron microscopy in the following experiments: (1) I will test whether the synaptic organization of the MeApd is sexually dimorphic by comparing the physiology and anatomy of the MeApd in prepubertal rats; (2) I will give gonadal steroids to neonatal female rats to evaluate whether gonadal steroid receptor activation is necessary to masculinize MeApd synapses; (3) I will create organotypic explants of the MeApd to test whether gonadal steroids influence the intrinsic synapses of the MeApd. This research will contribute to our understanding of how gonadal steroids influence the amygdala, a nucleus that has been implicated in the incidence of several psychiatric disorders that vary by gender, such as autism and depression [unreadable] [unreadable]
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0.952 |
2013 — 2015 |
Cooke, Bradley |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Career: Linking Behavioral Development to Neural Plasticity in the Medial Amygdala @ Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc.
Puberty is a phase of life marked by dramatic behavioral change. During puberty, the reproductive axis matures causing gonadal steroid levels to rise well beyond what is normally seen in adulthood. Because of the profound emotional, cognitive, and social changes that occur during puberty, gonadal hormones must profoundly affect brain connectivity and function. What that impact is, however, is largely unknown. In this project, behavioral observation, electrophysiology, and neuropharmacology in rats will be used to identify the neural mechanisms that underlie the pubertal emergence of a discrete behavioral disposition: The attraction to the odors of the opposite sex. It is expected that testosterone will cause a specific excitatory synaptic connection within a brain region termed the amygdala to undergo long-term potentiation, i.e., an increase in synaptic efficacy. The potential impact of this work will be to identify the causal mechanisms that underlie the emergence of a discrete behavior, which has never before been accomplished in mammals or during puberty. The Data Management Plan involves the use of an electronic laboratory notebook, managed by LabArchives LLC, which permits the permanent off-site storage of all records, regardless of their format. Upon publication of the results, all data produced in conjunction with this project will be available to the public. To maximize the broader impacts of this work, teaching will be integrated with research by developing a course on Developmental Behavioral Neuroscience, comparing the efficacy of two teaching methods, and submitting our findings to a science education journal. Finally, the PIs will participate in the NET/Work program, which is a 2-year paid internship for talented undergraduates that enable them to gain hands-on research experience in University laboratories. Being the most racially diverse institution in Georgia's university system, NET/Work taps talented minority students and provides an entrée for them into Neuroscience.
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0.915 |