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| GEERT
de VRIES |
Bio |
Research |
Publications |
Classes
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| My
lab studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms
underlying sexual differentiation of vasopressin
synthesis and release. We also study the functional
significance of sex differences in this exquisitely
hormone-sensitive system, focusing on its
role in parental behavior. Our approach is
multidisciplinary. We have used, for example,
neuronal tract-tracing, immunocytochemistry,
in-situ hybridization, neural transplants,
injections of psychopharmaca, and various
developmental manipulations to answer these
questions. Although most of our studies have
been done in rats, we now use mainly mice
and voles; mice because they allow us to explore
the function of individual genes; voles, because
they allow us to test the role of sex difference
in neural structure in parental behavior,
which is readily displayed by male and female
prairie voles. |
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