| | Principal Investigators
| W. Scott Young, M.D., Ph.D. |
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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. |
| 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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| Representative Selected Recent Publications: |
- Lee H-J, Caldwell HK, Macbeth AH, Tolu SG, Young WS 3rd:
A Conditional knockout mouse line of the oxytocin receptor,
Endocrinology. [Epub Mar 20] 2008.
- Caldwell HR, Stephens SL, Young WS 3rd.
Oxytocin as a natural antipsychotic: a study using oxytocin knockout mice
Mol. Psychiat.,[Epub Jan 29] 2008.
- Wersinger SR, Temple, JL, Caldwell HK, Young WS 3rd:
Inactivation of the oxytocin and the vasopressin 1b receptor genes, but not the vasopressin 1a receptor gene, differentially impair the Bruce effect in laboratory mice (Mus musculus).,
Endocrinology, Epub Oct 18] 2007.
- Wersinger SR, Caldwell HK, Christiansen M., Young WS 3rd:
Disruption of the vasopressin 1b receptor gene impairs the attack component of aggressive behavior in mice,
Genes Brain Behav, 6:653-60, 2007.
- Lee H-L, Palkovits M, and Young WS 3rd:
miR-7b, a microRNA up-regulated in the hypothalamus after chronic hyperosmolar stimulation, inhibits Fos translation,
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA., 103: 15669-74, 2006.
- Young WS, Li J, Wersinger SR, Palkovits M. :
The vasopressin 1b receptor is prominent in the hippocampal area CA2 where it is unaffected by restraint stress or adrenalectomy,
Neuroscience, 143:1031-9, 2006.
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