Hormones mediate environmental effects on physiology and behavior and affect development, reproduction, stress, and aging and may also be involved in learning and memory processes. Effects of hormones on brain function and behavior can be transitional by activating physiological changes only during the presence of a hormone. Or they can be permanent by organizing anatomical structures and their properties, in particular during early development, resulting in irreversible changes of brain function and behavior. There is a need for a greater diversity of animal models to better understand when and how these effects take place and to test various hypothesis that have been proposed. This proposal describes field and laboratory experiments with birds which address: 1) Mechanisms of environmental, hormonal and neural control of food caching behavior and associated spatial memory of black-capped chickadees. 2) Effects of maternally inherited hormones on the development of the behavior and brain function of offspring and the evolutionary significance of such a mechanism. Hormone assays, field observations of behavior, behavioral testing under controlled conditions, hormonal manipulations, and anatomical studies will be used to probe these questions. The possible involvement of the avian hippocampus in stress and food caching may offer new opportunities for studying how hormones that regulate stress also influence learning and memory. The hippocampus of food caching birds seems ideal material for studying these cross-roads between hormones, stress and learning. Finally, the presence of variable amounts of maternally inherited hormones during early development may be a mechanism that causes non-genetic variability in brain function and behavior. These studies may provide one more way of understanding the contributions of the mother and the environment to each new generation.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
First Independent Research Support & Transition (FIRST) Awards (R29)
Project #
5R29MH049877-05
Application #
2415981
Study Section
Psychobiology and Behavior Review Committee (PYB)
Project Start
1994-09-01
Project End
1999-04-30
Budget Start
1997-06-01
Budget End
1998-04-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
1997
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Washington State University
Department
Zoology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
041485301
City
Pullman
State
WA
Country
United States
Zip Code
99164
Chui, Wanda; Safer, Debra L; Bryson, Susan W et al. (2007) A comparison of ethnic groups in the treatment of bulimia nervosa. Eat Behav 8:485-91
Sockman, Keith W; Sharp, Peter J; Schwabl, Hubert (2006) Orchestration of avian reproductive effort: an integration of the ultimate and proximate bases for flexibility in clutch size, incubation behaviour, and yolk androgen deposition. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 81:629-66
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Kraemer, Helena Chmura; Wilson, G Terence; Fairburn, Christopher G et al. (2002) Mediators and moderators of treatment effects in randomized clinical trials. Arch Gen Psychiatry 59:877-83
Sockman, K W; Schwabl, H (2001) Plasma corticosterone in nestling american kestrels: effects of age, handling stress, yolk androgens, and body condition. Gen Comp Endocrinol 122:205-12
Sockman, K W; Schwabl, H; Sharp, P J (2001) Regulation of yolk-androgen concentrations by plasma prolactin in the American kestrel. Horm Behav 40:462-71
Sockman, K W; Schwabl, H (2000) Yolk androgens reduce offspring survival. Proc Biol Sci 267:1451-6
Agras, W S; Walsh, T; Fairburn, C G et al. (2000) A multicenter comparison of cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy for bulimia nervosa. Arch Gen Psychiatry 57:459-66
Sockman, K W; Schwabl, H; Sharp, P J (2000) The role of prolactin in the regulation of clutch size and onset of incubation behavior in the American kestrel. Horm Behav 38:168-76

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