Integrative Neurobiology of Social Processes

社会过程的综合神经生物学

• 批准号: 7882680
• 负责人: S MARC BREEDLOVE
• 金额: $ 11.82万
• 依托单位: MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-07-01 至 2014-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7882680
• 关键词: Neurobiology; Process; social

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In the wake of the successes in molecular biology, revealing information packed in the genome, behavioral scientists face the daunting task of integrating molecular events into the context of the whole organism, a challenge intensified by growing awareness that the behavior of one individual is exquisitely sensitive to the behaviors of others. Thus to understand the chain of events by which molecular events affect behavior we must not only place those events in the context of a single individual, but also in the context of individuals interacting with one another. Including this social sphere into our understanding will be crucial if we are ever to understand human behavioral disorders, since the most common of these (depression, schizophrenia, and drug abuse) are very sensitive to the social environment. We propose interdisciplinary training of investigators to consider behavior from multiple levels of analysis, from molecular and cellular events to behavioral outcomes in a social context. Because social interactions can be tremendously complex, we must select models in both traditional and non-traditional species to take advantage of those specific influences of one individual upon the brain and behavior of another. As examples, we study: social learning of song in zebra finches; maternal stimulation of neonates in rats, mice, and voles; dominance hierarchies in spotted hyenas; social modulation of puberty in rats, Syrian hamsters and Siberian hamsters; as well as mating behaviors in a variety of vertebrates. Most of these models also reflect the influence of hormones upon neural structure and behavior because hormones mediate many social signals, and because hormones affect myriad targets in the body, including the brain, to coordinate social behavior. These hormone-sensitive systems permit us to study molecular events, too: secretion of specific hormones, activation of hormone receptor proteins, hormonal modulation of gene expression in the nervous system, nuclear co-factor proteins regulating hormone responsiveness, environmental contaminants altering reproductive behavior, brain peptides regulating parental behaviors, among others. This integration of information, from molecular to social events and back again, must be accomplished for any satisfying understanding of behavior. We have assembled a unique program to train the next generation of researchers to tackle the challenge of studying the contextual determinants of behavior. We will train graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the organismal biology of social processes, which are crucial to human health. By exploring hormonal and genetic influences on social behaviors in humans and other species, we hope to gain a better understanding of disorders such as autism, ADHD, anorexia and schizophrenia, as well as societal issues such as aggression and parental behavior.

描述（由申请人提供）：随着分子生物学的成功，揭示了基因组中的信息，行为科学家面临着将分子事件整合到整个有机体背景中的艰巨任务，随着人们越来越意识到，一个人的行为对其他人的行为极其敏感。因此，为了理解分子事件影响行为的事件链，我们不仅必须将这些事件置于单个个体的背景下，而且还必须将这些事件置于个体彼此相互作用的背景下。如果我们想要了解人类行为障碍，那么将这个社会领域纳入我们的理解中至关重要，因为其中最常见的行为障碍（抑郁症、精神分裂症和药物滥用）对社会环境非常敏感。我们建议对研究人员进行跨学科培训，以从多个分析层面考虑行为，从分子和细胞事件到社会背景下的行为结果。由于社会互动可能非常复杂，我们必须在传统和非传统物种中选择模型，以利用一个个体对另一个个体的大脑和行为的特定影响。作为例子，我们研究： 斑胸草雀的歌曲社会学习；对大鼠、小鼠和田鼠新生儿的母体刺激；斑鬣狗的优势等级；大鼠、叙利亚仓鼠和西伯利亚仓鼠青春期的社会调节；以及各种脊椎动物的交配行为。这些模型中的大多数还反映了激素对神经结构和行为的影响，因为激素介导许多社会信号，并且因为激素影响身体中的无数目标（包括大脑）以协调社会行为。这些激素敏感系统也使我们能够研究分子事件：特定激素的分泌、激素受体蛋白的激活、神经系统中基因表达的激素调节、调节激素反应性的核辅因子蛋白、改变生殖行为的环境污染物、调节父母行为的脑肽等。为了对行为有令人满意的理解，必须完成从分子到社会事件并再次返回的这种信息整合。我们制定了一个独特的计划来培训下一代研究人员应对研究行为的背景决定因素的挑战。 我们将培训对人类健康至关重要的社会过程有机生物学方面的研究生和博士后。通过探索荷尔蒙和遗传对人类和其他物种社会行为的影响，我们希望更好地了解自闭症、多动症、厌食症和精神分裂症等疾病，以及攻击性和父母行为等社会问题。