Neurobiology of Social Support

社会支持的神经生物学

• 批准号: 7094473
• 负责人: CAROL SUE CARTER PORGES
• 金额: $ 34.88万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-04-01 至 2011-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7094473
• 关键词: amygdala; arginine vasopressin; behavioral /social science research tag; clinical research; dyadic interaction; ethology; gender difference; hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis; immunocytochemistry; infant animal; microdialysis; neuroendocrine system; oxytocin; protooncogene; social support network; stress; vole

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Social engagement, social support and social bonds can have positive health benefits, although the mechanisms for these effects are at present not well understood. We propose here to use the socially-monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) as an animal model to examine mechanisms for socially-induced changes in behavior and physiology. The proposed study postulates a novel mechanism through which even a brief social experience, possibly mediated in part by neuropeptide systems, can impact future behavior and brain function. Preliminary data reveal that exposure to an infant can significantly facilitate pair bonding, can release the brain hormone oxytocin (OT) and inhibit the activity of "stress" hormones from the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Here we propose to study regionally specific neuroendocrine changes that accompany pup exposure, focusing on neural systems, such as the amygdala, that are associated with social behavior and fear, and that are targets for OT, and a related neurohormone, arginine vasopressin (AVP). We also will further investigate the consequences of pup exposure through an analysis of subsequent social behaviors, including sociality to strangers and pair bond formation. Measures will include behavioral and neuroendocrine responses (measured by brain microdialysis, cFos and immunocytochemistry, and blood levels of OT, AVP and corticosterone). We will study both individual differences and gender-specific patterns of behavioral and neuroendocrine responding to pups to examine the hypothesis that these differences may reflect the actions of these hormones, including especially OT in females and AVP in males. Multiple measures focused around a simple paradigm (responses to a pup) allow an analysis of relationships among behavioral and neuroendocrine parameters, including behavior and physiology, which may share common neural substrates. Deficits in social behavior are a feature of several forms of mental illness, including autism, depression and schizophrenia, and may be associated with a vulnerability to substance abuse. The proposed study will contribute to our basic understanding of mammalian social behavior, and especially processes associated with parenting. In addition, these studies may help us understand neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying child neglect or abuse and why these may differ in males and females.

描述（由申请人提供）：社会参与、社会支持和社会纽带可以产生积极的健康益处，尽管目前尚未充分了解这些影响的机制。我们在这里建议使用社会一夫一妻制的草原田鼠（Microtus ochrogaster）作为动物模型来研究社会引起的行为和生理变化的机制。这项研究提出了一种新的机制，通过这种机制，即使是短暂的社交体验（可能部分由神经肽系统介导）也可以影响未来的行为和大脑功能。初步数据显示，与婴儿接触可以显着促进夫妻关系，可以释放大脑激素催产素（OT）并抑制下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴“压力”激素的活动。在这里，我们建议研究伴随幼崽暴露的区域特定神经内分泌变化，重点关注与社会行为和恐惧相关的神经系统，例如杏仁核，并且是 OT 的目标，以及相关的神经激素精氨酸加压素 (AVP) 。我们还将通过分析随后的社会行为，包括对陌生人的社交和配对关系的形成，进一步调查幼崽暴露的后果。测量指标包括行为和神经内分泌反应（通过脑微透析、cFos 和免疫细胞化学测量，以及 OT、AVP 和皮质酮的血液水平）。我们将研究个体差异以及对幼崽的行为和神经内分泌反应的性别特异性模式，以检验这些差异可能反映这些激素的作用的假设，尤其包括雌性的 OT 和雄性的 AVP。围绕一个简单范例（对小狗的反应）的多种测量可以分析行为和神经内分泌参数之间的关系，包括行为和生理学，它们可能共享共同的神经基质。社交行为缺陷是多种精神疾病的一个特征，包括自闭症、抑郁症和精神分裂症，并且可能与药物滥用的脆弱性有关。拟议的研究将有助于我们对哺乳动物社会行为，特别是与养育子女相关的过程的基本理解。此外，这些研究可能有助于我们了解儿童忽视或虐待背后的神经内分泌机制，以及为什么这些机制在男性和女性中可能有所不同。