Trainor Lab
Principal Investigator: Brian C Trainor
Institution: University of California, Davis (Davis, CA)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
Project summary Androgens alter brain structure and function during adolescence but how this transformation impacts behavior is poorly understood. The parent award tests the hypothesis that the activation of androgen receptors (AR) during puberty permanently programs neural circuits of social behavior to be less sensitive to social stress. Our studies use California mice (Peromyscus californicus), an ideal model system for studying adolescent development. In this species adolescence lasts almost twice as long as conventional mice and rats, allowing us to apply advanced neuroscience and molecular methods in ways that would be difficult or impossible in other species. In adult California mice, females but not males exposed to social defeat stress show reduced social approach an increased social vigilance (an orienting response during avoidance). In males, prepubertal castration produces female-typical social avoidance and vigilance responses in adulthood, while pubertal treatment with the non-aromatizable androgen dihydrotestosterone reduces sensitivity to social stress in both males and females. Orthogonal work from our group demonstrates that in adult females, social defeat increas…
Active NIH Awards
- 3R01MH135937-03S1: Supplement: Developmental programming of stress-sensitive neural circuits underlying social behavior (2026)
- 5R01MH135937-03: Developmental programming of stress-sensitive neural circuits underlying social behavior (2026)
- 5R01MH135937-02: Developmental programming of stress-sensitive neural circuits underlying social behavior (2025)
- 5R01MH121829-05: Oxytocin-dependent circuits of social approach and vigilance (2024)
- 1R01MH135937-01: Developmental programming of stress-sensitive neural circuits underlying social behavior (2024)
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