1989 — 1992 |
Wade, Juli S. |
F31Activity Code Description: To provide predoctoral individuals with supervised research training in specified health and health-related areas leading toward the research degree (e.g., Ph.D.). |
Sexual Differences in Brain and Behavior @ University of Texas Austin |
0.945 |
1992 |
Wade, Juli S. |
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 Diferentiation of Brain and Behavior @ University of California Los Angeles |
0.936 |
1994 — 1995 |
Wade, Juli S. |
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 Brain and Behavior @ University of California Los Angeles |
0.936 |
1995 — 2015 |
Wade, Juli |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Neuroendocrine Regulation of Behavioral Differences @ Michigan State University
This project will investigate the mechanisms that create behavioral differences in responsiveness to testosterone. These differences exist at multiple levels even in a single species, including behavioral function, the size of muscles, and parts of the nervous system that generate the behaviors. For example, in green anole lizards, this hormone facilitates reproductive behaviors in males more so than in females, and within males to a greater degree in the breeding than during the non-breeding season. Testosterone also increases the sizes of some reproductive structures, but not others, and among those it affects, the response is greatest during the breeding season. Experiments are designed to test the ideas that these differences in anatomy and behavior are due to one or more specific factors, including the availability of a priming hormone, estradiol, in the brain, and the expression of one or more of four specific genes. Thus, behavioral, anatomical, hormonal and molecular approaches are used to enhance the understanding of what determines whether and to what degree a hormone will act. This work will provide novel information on this basic biological phenomenon, which is not yet sufficiently understood, in part because the lizards to be used provide a uniquely large set of structures and functions across which the information can be carefully integrated. Since very little work of this kind is conducted in reptiles, it will also provide a new comparative, evolutionary perspective. The research is conducted by students at multiple career stages: undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral students, under direct mentorship of the Principal Investigator. At present, all of these individuals are women, thus impacting future generations of scientists and these woman, in turn, will be role models for other women in the neurosciences.
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1 |
1996 — 2000 |
Wade, Juli S. |
R29Activity Code Description: Undocumented code - click on the grant title for more information. |
Hormonal Regulation of Brain and Behavior Development @ Michigan State University
This project is designed to investigate the role of steroid hormones, estrogen in particular, in the development of brain and behavior. Currently, two models of sexual differentiation of brain and behavior are thought to exist. In mammals, estrogen, derived from testicular androgens, is thought to cause masculine development of neuroanatomy and sexual behaviors. in birds, estrogen that is secreted directly by the female ovary is thought to cause feminine development of copulatory behaviors. Unlike this more typical pattern of avian sexual differentiation, the neural song control system of zebra finches (which is much larger in males that sing than in females that do not) is thought to follow the mammalian pattern and masculinize under the influence of estradiol derived from androgen secreted by the testes in males. The main data in support of that theory are that treatment of females with estrogen in the first few weeks after hatching will cause masculine development of their neural song systems and allow them to sing in adulthood. However, a variety of experiments are incompatible with the idea that estrogen derived from testicular secretions is normally the substance that promotes masculine development in males. At present, it is unclear how the song system normally sexually differentiates. This proposal is designed to test two hypotheses: (i) the zebra finch song system is similar to the copulatory system of birds in that it is masculinized not by the presence of steroids derived form the testes but by the absence of estradiol and/or other ovarian factors, and (ii) the song system of zebra finches is similar to the copulatory system of mammals in that masculinization occurs under the influence of estradiol, either directly or indirectly. The experiments are designed to test how ovarian and testicular tissue, separately and in concert, influence sexual differentiation of the song and copulatory systems in zebra finches. Further. the studies will investigate the potential roles of estrogen and nerve growth factor receptors in the development of brain and behavior. Embryonic zebra finches will be treated with an inhibitor of estrogen synthesis or estrogen to determine the effects on the song and copulatory systems of (i) such alterations in estrogen levels, and (ii) testicular tissue in genetic females (which the estrogen synthesis inhibitor induces) and ovarian tissue in genetic males (which estradiol induces). Then, estrogen receptors will be assayed throughout the brain at a variety of developmental stages. Finally, sex differences in nerve growth factor binding will be investigated throughout development, and the effect on that binding of manipulating estrogen levels during the period of sexual differentiation will be studied.
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1 |
1998 — 2003 |
Wade, Juli |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Career: Neural and Endocrine Regulation of Behavioral Differences @ Michigan State University
9733074 Wade Males and females are different. Most species, including humans, are sexually dimorphic. While body shape and size may be the most apparent, there are differences in physiology, neural function and behavior. Considerable evidence indicates that, in vertebrates, hormones secreted by the gonads during a limited, sensitive stage of development differentiate the neural substrates underlying sexual dimorphism. Several model systems have been developed to exploit the relationship between gonadal steroid hormones, brain structure, and sexually dimorphic behavior including bird song, rat reproductive behavior, and electric discharge patterns of weakly electric fish. Dr. Wade has developed a reptile model system to examine how structural and biochemical changes within the brain regulate behavior. Reptiles are a pivotal group in vertebrate evolution since they are direct ancestors to both mammals and birds. Using a variety of neuroanatomical, behavioral, and classical endocrine techniques, she will address what causes behaviors to be different in males than in females and decipher the factors that stimulate behaviors seasonally in adulthood. Moreover, as part of this CAREER award, Dr. Wade will develop a course emphasizing comparative aspects of neuroanatomical and hormonal regulation of behaviors. The integration of her teaching and research will provide students with a greater opportunity for first-hand experience in the neural and endocrine factors that influence the structure and the function of the brain.
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0.915 |
2001 — 2011 |
Wade, Juli S. |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Developmental Regulation of Brain and Behavior @ Michigan State University
DESCRIPTION (applicant's abstract): The proposed studies will elucidate genes and their products (proteins) that are important for the development of brain and behavior. They focus on sexual differentiation of the structure and function of the song control system and associated regions in the telencephalon of zebra finches. Only males sing, and the brain areas and muscles that control song are larger in males than in females. In many vertebrates, the development of these types of male-biased differences in behavior and morphology is regulated by gonadal steroids. In zebra finches, some masculinization can be induced with estrogen treatment, but recent data suggest that at least the forebrain song control regions differentiate independent of gonadal secretions. Therefore, a screen will be conducted to discover genes that are expressed in a sexually dimorphic pattern in the telencephalon during development of the brain regions and singing behavior. Then, proteins regulating cytoarchitecture and/or specific functions (e.g., learning) will be targeted for more detailed investigation. Using this strategy, female-specific transcripts for neurocalcin, a calcium binding protein, were discovered. Experiments will clarify its role and that of calcium regulation in neural development. Other studies target the role of the estrogen-sensitive protein, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), in development of the song control nuclei and regions directly associated with them that are involved in song perception. The receptors for BDNF, which supports neuronal migration and survival, are present in these regions in both sexes when males are learning to sing, and perhaps females are learning the qualities of a good song. These studies will clarify the role of learning and the brain regions that are active during song perception in females (detailed information is already available for males), and will then test the hypothesis that BDNF modulates the development of these telencephalic structures and song-related functions in both sexes. The last set of studies examines whether mechanisms regulating development in the forebrain may apply to the motor nucleus and vocal organ muscles, and whether sexual differentiation is regulated by gonadal steroids in the hindbrain and periphery, similar to other dimorphic model systems.
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1 |
2003 — 2007 |
Wade, Juli S. |
K02Activity Code Description: Undocumented code - click on the grant title for more information. |
Sex Differences in Brain and Behavior Development @ Michigan State University
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The studies, focusing on sexual differentiation of the song system in zebra finches, will elucidate genes and their products important for nervous system, muscle and behavioral development. Only males sing, and the brain areas and muscles that control song are larger than in females. In many vertebrates, development of these types of dimorphisms is regulated by gonadal steroids. In zebra finches, differentiation can be altered with estrogen treatment, but recent data suggest that the forebrain song control regions differentiate independent of gonadal secretions. Therefore, a screen will be conducted for genes expressed in a sexually dimorphic pattern in the telencephalon during development of morphology and singing behavior. Then, genes/proteins regulating cytoarchitecture and/or specific functions (e.g., learning) will be investigated in more detail. Using this strategy, female-specific transcripts for neurocalcin were discovered. Experiments will clarify their role and that of calcium regulation in neural development. Other studies target the role of the estrogen-sensitive protein, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in development of the song control nuclei and regions involved in song perception. These studies will clarify the importance of learning and the brain regions that are active during song perception in females (detailed information is already available for males), and will then test the hypothesis that BDNF modulates development of these telencephalic structures and song-related functions in both sexes. Finally, it will be determined whether mechanisms regulating development in the forebrain apply to the motor nucleus and vocal organ muscles, and whether sexual differentiation at this level is normally mediated by gonadal steroids, similar to other dimorphic model systems. The candidate for this Independent Scientist Award is an associate professor at Michigan State University, and her teaching load and service obligations are substantial. The award would provide her time to (1) enhance her training in molecular techniques (those proposed in collaboration with other scientists, and new ones useful for future experiments); (2) broaden her anatomical expertise; (3) contribute to the proposed studies more directly, which will increase the rate of progress; and (4) enhance collaborations and visibility of her growing neuroendocrine group, as well as training of students and postdocs, by establishing a seminar series with leaders in her field.
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1 |
2004 — 2005 |
Wade, Juli |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
International Meeting For the Society For Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, Lisbon, Portugal, July 2004 @ Michigan State University
This grant will provide support for trainees at the 8th annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology (SBN) to be held July 26-30, 2004. The meeting will be hosted by the Eco-Ethology Research Unit, Integrative Behavioural Biology Lab, of the Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal. A founding principle of the SBN is a commitment to undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. These individuals are the future of scientific enterprise, and the annual SBN conference is an opportunity to enhance their education, reward their efforts, appreciate their contributions, and as they enter the academic community. The SBN is a multidisciplinary, international society that promotes research and education concerning hormones, the brain and behavior. The annual SBN conference brings together scientists from diverse fields, including physiological and developmental psychology, behavioral ecology, animal behavior, chronobiology, psychoneuroendocrinology, neuroscience, cellular and molecular endocrinology, developmental biology, and genetics. In particular, the society encourages the integration of cellular and molecular concepts into a functional framework. The funds from this proposal will be used for three purposes: (1) a Young Investigator's Symposium, in which eight of the most talented postdocs and senior graduate students will present talks (selected by competition and funding used to defray expenses for attending the meeting); (2) smaller travel awards to students and postdocs presenting posters (also selected by competition), and (3) two professional development workshops. The abstracts from talks and posters presented at the conference will be published in Hormones and Behavior, and full manuscripts from the data are then commonly published in a variety of journals focusing on neuroscience, endocrinology and/or behavior.
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0.915 |
2005 — 2007 |
Wade, Juli |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Ninth and Tenth Annual Meetings For the Society For Behavioral Neuroendocrinology June 22-25, 2005 in Austin, Tx and Pittsburgh, Pa in 2006 @ Michigan State University
This Project will provide support for trainees at the 9th and 10th annual meetings of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology (SBN). A founding principle of the SBN is a commitment to undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. These individuals are the future of scientific enterprise, and the annual SBN conference is an opportunity to enhance their education, reward their efforts, appreciate their contributions, and make them part of the academic community. The SBN is a multidisciplinary, international society that promotes research and education concerning hormones, the brain and behavior. The annual SBN conference brings together scientists from many fields, including physiological and developmental psychology, behavioral ecology, animal behavior, chronobiology, psychoneuroendocrinology, neuroscience, cellular and molecular endocrinology, developmental biology, and genetics. In particular, the society encourages the integration of cellular and molecular concepts into a functional framework. The funds from this project will be used for purposes including: (1) a Young Investigator's Symposium, in which eight of the most talented postdocs and senior graduate students will present talks (they were selected in a competition and will receive support to defray much if not all of their expenses in attending the meeting); (2) smaller travel awards to students and postdocs presenting posters (also selected by competition); (3) "meet-the-professor" lunches; and (4) a professional development workshop. The abstracts from talks and posters presented at the conference will be published in Hormones and Behavior, and full manuscripts from the data are then commonly published in a variety of journals focusing on neuroscience, endocrinology and/or behavior.
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0.915 |
2012 — 2016 |
Wade, Juli S. |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Hormonal and Genetic Regulation of Brain Development @ Michigan State University
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Brain and behavior differ between males and females across vertebrate species. The zebra finch song system is a particularly useful model for understanding mechanisms that regulate development of sex differences in neural structure and function for many reasons, including extremely large morphological differences between males and females in a relatively simple neural circuit in which brain regions have clearly identified functions. Recent sequencing of the zebra finch genome provides new access to molecular tools and resources. As in mammalian species, estradiol (E2) can induce some masculinization, but a variety of pieces of evidence indicate that additional molecules are critical to normal male development. I propose to test a new, unique hypothesis, that the steroid hormone E2 acts in concert with masculine levels of expression of one or more sex chromosome genes to regulate appropriate male development. This work will provide critical novel information, as data on interactions between E2 and other molecules regulating sexual differentiation are very limited across species. The experiments involve three genes that we determined exhibit increased expression in specific song control nuclei in developing males compared to females. Collectively, the studies will provide a cohesive body of information integrating hormonal and genetic factors regulating development of brain structure and a learned social behavior - vocal communication, the primary modality used by humans. Specifically, we will use combinations of molecular, cellular, anatomical and behavioral approaches to test hypotheses about the relationships among E2 and specific molecules in development of forebrain structure and function. The ideas, which are not mutually exclusive, include that: (1) E2 increases expression of secretory carrier membrane protein 1 (SCAMP1), tubulin specific chaperone A (TBCA) and/or tyrosine kinase B (TrkB, the high affinity receptor for brain derived neurotrophic factor - BDNF); (2) These genes and the BDNF ligand modulate masculinization, in part by increasing responsiveness of the developing brain to E2; and (3) E2 and the genes/proteins can have complementary effects, including that E2 increases availability of BDNF, SCAMP1 and TBCA are positioned to facilitate BDNF's release, and TBCA and TrkB are localized such that they can increase BDNF's ability to act.
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