# SOCIOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR - CELLULAR BASIS OF HORMONE ACTION

> **NIH NIH R01** · PURDUE UNIVERSITY · 1993 · $85,602

## Abstract

The overall goal of this research program is to study cellular mechanisms
of hormone action on sexual and aggressive behaviors in female Syrian
hamsters.  It is proposed that aggression is an integral component of
social behaviors of females in general, and that the results of these
studies will be generalizable to females of other species.  One focus of
these experiments is the identification of a novel functional neural
pathway related to the control of aggression in female hamsters.  Since
factors regulating aggression in females are rarely studied, it is not
surprising that nothing is known about the neural pathways underlying
female aggression.  Related to this goal, the experiments in Section I will
focus on afferent and efferent pathways of the ventromedial nucleus of the
hypothalamus.  This nucleus was chosen for its unique position as the
primary site of action of ovarian hormones on aggression and sexual
behavior in female hamsters.  In Section II, chemical lesions will be made
in neural regions that interact monosynaptically with the ventromedial
hypothalamus.  Lesion sites that produce effects on sexual behavior and
aggression will help to define functional pathways for these behaviors,
including points of convergence and divergence in the neural control of
these behavioral systems.  In Section III and IV, studies will examine
possible mechanisms through which ovarian hormones can determine the
female's behavioral state.  In Section III, the possibility that steroids
produce dedritic reconfigurations in neurons of the ventromedial
hypothalamus will be examined.  In Section IV, the effects of steroids on
the ultrastructure of neurons in the ventromedial nucleus of the
hypothalamus will be assessed.  The goals of these sections are 1) to infer
biochemical processes in nerve cells stimulated by steroids, and 2) to
relate these changes in structure to the behavioral effectiveness of such
steroid treatments.  In sum, the results of these studies will identify
neural systems related to the control of sexual behavior and aggression in
females, including ways in which hormones may alter the functional nature
of these systems, and therefore, behavior.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2198292
- **Project number:** 5R01HD021478-06
- **Recipient organization:** PURDUE UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** YRXVL4JYCEF5
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert L Meisel
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $85,602
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1985-09-01 → 1994-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2198292

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2198292, SOCIOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR - CELLULAR BASIS OF HORMONE ACTION (5R01HD021478-06). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2198292. Licensed CC0.

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