Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

There is a complex relation among steroid hormones (also known as sex hormones), spatial behaviour and neural structures, such as the hippocampus or frontal cortex. In both rats and humans, performance on tasks of spatial behavior, such as navigation or remembering where things are (object location memory), show differences between the sexes and are sensitive to steroid hormones. That is, men and male rats tend to do better than women and female rats on tasks requiring navigation. For object location memory, the opposite occurs. That is, women and female rats do better on tasks of object location memory. Although it is clear that these steroid hormones affect the brain, the complex relation between steroid hormones, brain differences and behavior remain largely underexplored, particularly in females. Using a series of experiments, this research will examine how these three factors interact in both humans and rats. This research is poised to investigate the complex relation among these three factors through a program of research in a novel way. It will also provide much needed insight into the complex relations among cognition, the nervous system and the endocrine system, which is critical for understanding fundamental aspects of brain function in normal and pathological conditions (e.g., Turner's syndrome).