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| W. Scott Young, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Investigator |
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Dr. Young received his B.A., M.D., and Ph.D from The Johns Hopkins University. The latter degree, obtained under the guidance of Michael Kuhar, described the development of in vitro receptor autoradiography and the first applications of the technique to the localization of neurotranmsitter receptors in human and other animal brains. Dr. Young then completed an internship in internal medicine at the University of Maryland and a residency in neurology at the University of Virginia. He joined the NIMH in 1984 where he has studied the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei in the hypothalamus. Dr. Young's laboratory is currently using and creating knock-out and transgenic mice to study the roles of vasopressin and oxytocin in the brain.
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Staff:
- Jerome "Barney" Pagani, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, (301) 435-1596 paganij@mail.nih.gov
- Zhenzhong Cui, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, (301) 496-5565 cuiz@mail.nih.gov
- Anna Iacangelo, B.S., Biologist, (301) 496-0514 anna@codon.nih.gov
- Heon-Jin Lee, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow heonlee@mail.nih.gov
- Abbe Macbeth, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, (301) 496-9581 macbeth@mail.nih.gov
- Emily Shepard, B.S., Biologist, (301) 496-0716 sheparde@mail.nih.gov
Research Interests:
The Section on Neural Gene Expression investigates the regulation of genes in the central nervous system, with particular emphasis on those expressed within the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus. Two key genes there encode the 9 amino acid peptide hormones vasopressin (also known as antidiuretic hormone) and oxytocin, that participate in the regulation of fluid balance and parturition and lactation, respectively. In addition, they have roles in various behaviors, including social and maternal.
Our group uses a variety of techniques ranging from anatomical (hybridization histochemistry and receptor autoradiography) to molecular biological to transgenic animals to explore gene expression. For example, we have generated mice lacking functional oxytocin, as well as mice that express green fluorescent protein in oxytocin neurons, in our attempts to determine the essential and non-essential roles of this hormone. Our latest work examines the vasopressin 1b receptor knockout mice that we made. These mice show a marked reduction in aggression and a modest decline in social recognition. We have recently begun studying the first conditional knockout of the oxytocin receptor. Our various studies with transgenic, including knockout mice, are listed here.
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Selected Recent Publications:
Lee HJ, Caldwell HK, Macbeth AH, Tolu SG, Young WS 3rd (2008) A conditional knockout mouse line of the oxytocin receptor, Endocrinology 149, 3256-63.
Full Text/Abstract
Caldwell HK, Stephens SL, Young WS 3rd (2008) Oxytocin as a natural antipsychotic: a study using oxytocin knockout mice, Mol Psychiatry [Epub ahead of print].
Full Text/Abstract
Wersinger SR, Caldwell HK, Christiansen M, Young WS 3rd (2007) Disruption of the vasopressin 1b receptor gene impairs the attack component of aggressive behavior in mice, Genes Brain Behav 6, 653-60.
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Lee HJ, Palkovits M, Young WS 3rd (2006) miR-7b, a microRNA up-regulated in the hypothalamus after chronic hyperosmolar stimulation, inhibits Fos translation, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103, 15669-74.
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Young WS, Li J, Wersinger SR, Palkovits M (2006) The vasopressin 1b receptor is prominent in the hippocampal area CA2 where it is unaffected by restraint stress or adrenalectomy, Neuroscience 143, 1031-9.
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Wersinger SR, Kelliher KR, Zufall F, Lolait SJ, O'Carroll AM, Young WS 3rd (2004) Social motivation is reduced in vasopressin 1b receptor null mice despite normal performance in an olfactory discrimination task, Horm. Behav. 46, 638-45.
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Wersinger, SR, Ginns, EI, O'Carroll, AM, Lolait, SJ, and Young, WS 3rd (2002) Vasopressin V1b receptor knockout reduces aggressive behavior in male mice, Mol. Psychiat. 7, 975-84.
Full Text/Abstract
All Selected Publications
Contact Information:
Dr. W. Scott Young
Section on Neural Gene Expression (SNGE)
Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Regulation,NIMH
Building 49, Room 5A56
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20892-4483
Telephone: (301) 496-8767 (office),
(301) 402-6473 (fax)
Email: wsy@mail.nih.gov
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