RUI: Vasotocin Mechanisms Controlling Social Behavior

RUI：控制社会行为的加压素机制

• 批准号: 0420938
• 负责人: Richmond Thompson
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Bowdoin College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-07-15 至 2008-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0420938&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Vasotocin; Mechanisms; Controlling; Social

Vasotocin is a chemical produced in the brains of fish, reptiles, amphibians and birds and is very similar to a chemical produced in the brains of mammals, including humans, which is called vasopressin. These related chemicals influence a variety of social behaviors, including courtship, aggression, and pair-bonding in numerous animals, possibly even in humans. However, little is known about how these chemicals act inside of the brain to exert their influences on a variety of behaviors. Goldfish are an ideal species in which to study such processes because they are very social and because the vasotocin systems in their brains are easily manipulated, to reveal important mechanisms for how these chemicals might work. In goldfish, vasotocin inhibits a very basic form of social behavior, approach responses toward other fish. The present project will use behavioral, neuroanatomical and molecular techniques to determine how and where vasotocin acts within the brain to induce such effects and if different levels of sociality are associated with individual differences in these brain systems. It is predicted that vasotocin inhibits social approach behavior in this species by activating brain systems involved in the control of body processes related to emotional fight or flight reactions. Because the brain vasotocin and vasopressin systems that potentially control such processes are similar in many animals, including humans, such findings could implicate mechanisms that may be widespread in the animal kingdom and may even represent one of the original ways through which this chemical affected social behavior in vertebrate animals. Therefore, these studies have the potential to increase our understanding of how the brain systems that control social behavior may have evolve, as well as of how specific neurochemical processes influence social behavior in modern species. Undergraduate students, many whom are senior honor's students, will play an important role in the implementation of studies addressing these specific goals.

血管毒素是一种在鱼类，爬行动物，两栖动物和鸟类的大脑中产生的化学物质，与包括人类在内的哺乳动物的大脑中产生的化学物质非常相似，该化学物质称为人类，这种化学物质称为加压素。 这些相关的化学物质会影响各种社会行为，包括许多动物，甚至可能在人类中。 但是，对于这些化学物质如何在大脑内部起作用以对各种行为发挥影响，知之甚少。 金鱼是研究此类过程的理想物种，因为它们非常社交，并且很容易被操纵大脑中的血管素系统，以揭示这些化学物质如何工作的重要机制。 在金鱼中，血管毒素抑制了一种非常基本的社会行为形式，方法是对其他鱼类的反应。 本项目将使用行为，神经解剖学和分子技术来确定血管索素在大脑中的作用以及何处诱导这种影响，以及是否不同水平的社会性与这些大脑系统中的个体差异相关。 据预测，血管固醇通过激活与情感战斗或飞行反应有关的身体过程的大脑系统来抑制该物种中的社会方法行为。 因为在包括人类在内的许多动物中，可能控制这种过程的脑血管毒素和加压素系统相似，所以这种发现可能暗示可能在动物界广泛地扩展的机制，甚至可能代表这种化学物质影响脊椎动物中的社会行为的原始方式之一。 因此，这些研究有可能提高我们对控制社会行为的大脑系统如何发展以及特定神经化学过程如何影响现代物种的社会行为的理解。本科生，许多是高级荣誉学生，将在实施解决这些特定目标的研究中发挥重要作用。