Estradiol withdrawal following a hormone simulated pregnancy induces deficits in affective behaviors and increases ∆FosB in D1 and D2 neurons in the nucleus accumbens core in mice.

In placental mammals, estradiol levels are chronically elevated during pregnancy, but quickly drop to prepartum levels following birth. This may produce an "estrogen withdrawal" state that has been linked to changes in affective states in humans and rodents during the postpartum period. The neural mechanisms underlying these affective changes, however, are understudied.

Measuring Sex Differences in the Corpus Callosum by Undergraduates at a Small and a Large Institution.

Neuroscience students often seem more responsive to laboratory exercises that involve human brains. Here we describe a lab that utilizes human brain MRIs to evaluate a long-standing debate over the presence of sex differences in the human brain, specifically the corpus callosum. Students at both Widener and UCLA measured corpus callosum subregions that were already marked-off as described by Witelson (1989) or by Hofer and Frahm (2006).

Acute and specific modulation of presynaptic aromatization in the vertebrate brain.

Estrogens affect a diversity of peripheral and central physiological endpoints. Traditionally, estrogens were thought to be peripherally derived transcription regulators (i.e.

Neural distribution of vasotocin receptor mRNA in two species of songbird.

The neurohypophyseal hormones vasopressin and oxytocin are produced and released within the mammalian brain, where they act via multiple receptor subtypes. The neural distributions of these receptors, for example, V1a and oxytocin receptors, have been well described in many mammals. In birds, the distribution of binding sites for the homologous neuropeptides, vasotocin (VT) and mesotocin, has been studied in several species by using synthetic radioligands designed to bind to mammalian receptors.

Assessment of hippocampal adeno-associated viral vector gene delivery via frameless stereotaxis in a nonhuman primate.

Background/aims: Expression of the neuropeptide galanin in hippocampal neurons reduces seizures in the kainic acid rodent model of epilepsy. In order to translate these findings into a human clinical trial, the safety and feasibility of hippocampal adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector expression must be demonstrated in a nonhuman primate model.

Methods: The Stealth Frameless Stereotactic System and Navigus Biopsy Appliance (Medtronic) were used to inject self-complementary AAV2 carrying the gene for green fluorescent protein (GFP) into monkey hippocampi.

Comparison of adeno-associated viral vector serotypes for spinal cord and motor neuron gene delivery.

Gene therapy for motor neuron diseases requires efficient gene delivery to motor neurons (MNs) throughout the spinal cord and brainstem. The present study compared adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector serotypes 1, 6, 8, and 9 for spinal cord delivery in adult mice, by the intraparenchymal or intrathecal route of administration. Whereas intraparenchymal injections resulted in local transduction of the lumbar segment of the spinal cord, intrathecal injections led to a broader distribution, transducing cells along the sacral, lumbar, and lower thoracic spinal cord.

Neural distribution of nonapeptide binding sites in two species of songbird.

Vasotocin (VT) and its mammalian homologue, vasopressin (VP), modulate many social behaviors in a variety of vertebrate species. In songbirds, the effects of centrally administered VT vary according to species, which may reflect species-specific distributions of VT binding sites. Different radioligands used to map receptors in previous autoradiographical studies have revealed nonoverlapping distributions of VT binding, suggesting a heterogeneous population of more than one type of VT receptor.

Fate of polybrominated diphenyl ethers during wastewater treatment/polishing and sludge stabilization/disposal.

Large quantities of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been used as flame retardants in clothing and plastic products since the 1970s. A small fraction of the PBDEs in manufactured products subsequently enters municipal wastewater. Nevertheless, the resistance of these compounds to chemical and biochemical transformations provides opportunities for accumulation in sediments that are in contact with wastewater effluent and agricultural soils that are amended with biosolids derived from wastewater treatment.

Sex steroids modulate changes in social and sexual preference during juvenile development in zebra finches.

Zebra finches, like many other animals, have close social relationships mainly with the family at young ages but begin to express interest in opposite-sex extra-family animals as they enter the late juvenile period and sexual maturity. This experiment tested a set of hypotheses that sex steroids are involved in this developmental transition. At 25-30 days, subjects were implanted subcutaneously with Silastic tubes that were empty (controls), filled with testosterone propionate, filled with estradiol benzoate, or filled with a combination of ATD (an aromatization inhibitor) and flutamide (an anti-androgen).

Hormonal and social modulation of cloacal muscle activity in female Japanese quail.

Japanese quail are an important model for the discovery of neuroendocrine mechanisms of sexual behavior. In common with most birds and many other vertebrates, there are no genitalia of the mammalian kind (no phallus or vagina). Instead, close contact between the cloacal openings of the male and female is critical for successful mating.