This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.This project is designed to determine the effects of over expression of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) on reproduction and reproductive behavior. During chronic expression to stress, CRH is unregulated in the limbic areas of the brain, including the CeA. This project tested the hypothesis that the upregulation of CRH in the CeA was responsible for the deficits seen in the reproductive axis induced by chronic stress. A lenti viral vector was used to over express CRH in the CeA. CRH over expression completely abolished estrous cyclicity compared to females receiving control injections of green fluorescent protein. Serum corticosterone levels were elevated while body weights were attenuated, as were serum concentrations of leptin in CRH animals. Arginine vasopressin in the hypothalamus was also unregulated in CRH animals, analogous to happen during chronic stress. Another set of experiments tested the hypothesis that CRH over expression in the CeA would attenuate the behavioral effects of estradiol. The data show that CRH over expression significantly reduces steroid-induced sexual behavior in ovariectomized rats over expressing CRH compared to control animals. Furthermore, CRH over expressing females showed indices of depression, using standardized tests, compared to control animals.
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