Part 1: This research will examine how steroid hormones, which are produced by all vertebrates, directly activate receptors on the surfaces of neurons in the brain to influence behavior. Once activated, these receptors rapidly change the internal responsiveness of those cells to incoming sensory inputs and thus alter an organism's perception of the world around it. Determining if steroids work through such mechanisms will help us better understand basic hormone signaling mechanisms as well as the complex neurochemical processes that enable animals, including humans, to adjust their behavioral responses to constantly changing social environments. The experiments will contribute to the training of our nation's future scientists, educators and doctors through the hands-on research experiences that will be provided for students at an exclusively undergraduate institution. Students will participate in projects related to the award through a lab course run by the PI as well as through focused independent research experiences in the PI's lab. The PIs will recruit students from diverse socioeconomic and racial backgrounds to participate in the research. Additionally, the PI will promote STEM education on a Native American reservation in Maine through a neuroscience workshop.
Part 2: Although non-genomic androgen receptor signaling mechanisms have been well-documented in the peripheral tissue of a variety of vertebrates their rapid, central influences have not been thoroughly examined. This project will investigate a novel mechanism through which androgens may rapidly affect social behavior in male goldfish. The goals of this project are to assess whether 1) testosterone rapidly promotes courtship in competitive contexts through androgen receptors; 2) androgen receptors rapidly modulate courtship by influencing responses to pheromones; and 3) androgen receptors affect early olfactory processing and/or functional coupling across brain networks. By characterizing a novel mechanism through which androgens rapidly modulate the processing of social stimuli, new insight into the fundamental neuroendocrine signaling mechanisms that allow animals to rapidly adjust their behavioral responses to constantly changing social environments will be potentially revealed. This project will also have two major types of broader impact. First, it will directly enhance the scientific education of undergraduates at Bowdoin College by integrating the proposed research into an existing neuroscience laboratory course and through independent summer internships and honors projects. Second, the PIs will continue a 4-day workshop in northern Maine for Native American 7th grade students that is built around this project.
