Research support would enable the applicant to commit his time on essentially a full time basis to the study of hormone-opiate-brain interactions in the regulation of parental behavior in mammals. The research proposed here focuses upon the interactions among endocrine, neural and behavioral events associated with pregnancy, birth and the nurturing of young. Specifically, the objective of the research is to delineate the causal relationships which exist among the steroidal milieu, prolactin secretion, the endogenous opioid systems, and maternal behavior using a rat animal model. In the first set of experiments the involvement of prolactin in the induction of maternal behavor is examined. Possible modes and sites of prolactin's behavioral actions are investigated. The second set of experiments addresses the involvement of opiates in the regulation of maternal behavior. Endogenous opiate concentrations in behavioral important CNS loci will be measured by radioimmunoassay during pregnancy and lactation. Next, to determine whether the steroidal induction of maternal behavior is opiate-mediated, CNS-opioid concentrations will be measured after treatment of inexperienced female rats with behaviorally effective and ineffective steroid treatments. Other studies will enable us to identify sites and possible mechanisms of opiate regulation of maternal behavior. In the final series of experiments we examine those neural, endocrine and neuroendocrine factors that regulate prolactin secretion in males. Experiments test whether the male exhibits specific endocrine and neuroendocrine responses to the presentation of young. The effects of steroid-priming, neural stimulation and behavioral inputs on circulating prolactin levels in males are measured. Finally, the possible """"""""organizational"""""""" effects of androgen exposure during prenatal and postnatal development on the ability to process sensory information from young, integrate this information centrally, and show an endocrine response are examined in male and female rats. In total, these studies are designed to advance our understanding of those biological events that regulate and are regulated by parent-young interactions. During the course of proposed support the applicant would gain additional scientific training in the areas of cell biology, neuroanatomy, and primate behavioral endocrinology. In addition, the applicant would organize a symposium on the Regulation of Parental Care, the proceedings of which would be published as a text.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research (K02)
Project #
5K02MH000536-05
Application #
3069949
Study Section
Research Scientist Development Review Committee (MHK)
Project Start
1984-12-01
Project End
1989-11-30
Budget Start
1989-01-01
Budget End
1989-11-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
1989
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Harvard University
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
082359691
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Hammer Jr, R P; Mateo, A R; Bridges, R S (1992) Hormonal regulation of medial preoptic mu-opiate receptor density before and after parturition. Neuroendocrinology 56:38-45
Kinsley, C H; Mann, P E; Bridges, R S (1992) Diminished luteinizing hormone release in prenatally stressed male rats after exposure to sexually receptive females. Physiol Behav 52:925-8
Bridges, R S; Hammer Jr, R P (1992) Parity-associated alterations of medial preoptic opiate receptors in female rats. Brain Res 578:269-74
Mann, P E; Bridges, R S (1992) Neural and endocrine sensitivities to opioids decline as a function of multiparity in the rat. Brain Res 580:241-8
Mann, P E; Kinsley, C H; Bridges, R S (1991) Opioid receptor subtype involvement in maternal behavior in lactating rats. Neuroendocrinology 53:487-92
Bridges, R S; Ronsheim, P M (1990) Prolactin (PRL) regulation of maternal behavior in rats: bromocriptine treatment delays and PRL promotes the rapid onset of behavior. Endocrinology 126:837-48
Bridges, R S; Numan, M; Ronsheim, P M et al. (1990) Central prolactin infusions stimulate maternal behavior in steroid-treated, nulliparous female rats. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 87:8003-7
Kinsley, C H; Bridges, R S (1990) Morphine treatment and reproductive condition alter olfactory preferences for pup and adult male odors in female rats. Dev Psychobiol 23:331-47
Rubin, B S; Bridges, R S (1989) Alterations in luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone release from the mediobasal hypothalamus of ovariectomized, steroid-primed middle-aged rats as measured by push-pull perfusion. Neuroendocrinology 49:225-32
Kinsley, C H; Mann, P E; Bridges, R S (1989) Alterations in stress-induced prolactin release in adult female and male rats exposed to stress, in utero. Physiol Behav 45:1073-6

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