This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. In this funding period, Dr. Nair and colleagues examined the neurobiological mechanisms underlying individual differences in changes in startle after social isolation. Rats show increased startle after social isolation, but some are more affected by the isolation than others. Since the peptides oxytocin, vasopressin and corticotrophin releasing factor are all involved in social behavior and anxiety, we correlated the density for the receptors for these peptides in several brain regions with the amount of change in startle afere isolation. We then used multivariate statistical tools to take a discovery-based approach to identify which neuropeptide receptors and in which areas of the brain best predicted social-isolation induced startle. We directly tested one of the sites (Nucleus Accumbens) and neuropeptide receptors (CRF1) identified by the statistics for their role in isolation induced stress (and found positive results). This work has culminated in an article published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
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