Class
Article
College
College of Science
Department
Biology Department
Faculty Mentor
Sara Freeman
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
Forming strong social bonds is essential to our everyday life and is part of what makes us human. The loss of a loved one often results in grief, stress, and loneliness, and the stress response system of the body has been implicated in the physiological symptoms associated with grieving. The hormone that initiates the stress response in the body is called corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), which acts via binding to CRF receptors (CRFR). Coyotes are an appropriate animal model to study social bonds and social loss because they display monogamy and pair bonding, which is a trait seen in human social behavior as well. The objective of this study was to map CRF receptors in the coyote brain, which can then be used in future studies exploring the relationship between the loss of social bonds and CRF receptors in this species. We mapped CRF receptor subtypes 1 and 2 in the brains of 3 paired female coyotes using competitive binding autoradiography. Undergraduate members of the Freeman Lab sliced the coyote brains on a cryostat at 20 um and mounted them onto microscope slides. Afterwards, we performed receptor autoradiography to examine the distribution of CRF receptors throughout the anterior to posterior anatomical levels. We hypothesized that both CRFR1 and CRFR2 will be found in the amygdala and hippocampus. Our results showed that the olfactory system, hippocampus, and amygdala are sites of action of CRF receptors. These results will inform a follow up study to directly compare the effects of partner loss on CRFRs between paired and widowed female coyotes in an Honors Capstone Project this coming Fall semester.
Location
Logan, UT
Start Date
4-12-2023 1:30 PM
End Date
4-12-2023 2:30 PM
Included in
Mapping of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (CRF) Receptors in the Coyote Brain
Logan, UT
Forming strong social bonds is essential to our everyday life and is part of what makes us human. The loss of a loved one often results in grief, stress, and loneliness, and the stress response system of the body has been implicated in the physiological symptoms associated with grieving. The hormone that initiates the stress response in the body is called corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), which acts via binding to CRF receptors (CRFR). Coyotes are an appropriate animal model to study social bonds and social loss because they display monogamy and pair bonding, which is a trait seen in human social behavior as well. The objective of this study was to map CRF receptors in the coyote brain, which can then be used in future studies exploring the relationship between the loss of social bonds and CRF receptors in this species. We mapped CRF receptor subtypes 1 and 2 in the brains of 3 paired female coyotes using competitive binding autoradiography. Undergraduate members of the Freeman Lab sliced the coyote brains on a cryostat at 20 um and mounted them onto microscope slides. Afterwards, we performed receptor autoradiography to examine the distribution of CRF receptors throughout the anterior to posterior anatomical levels. We hypothesized that both CRFR1 and CRFR2 will be found in the amygdala and hippocampus. Our results showed that the olfactory system, hippocampus, and amygdala are sites of action of CRF receptors. These results will inform a follow up study to directly compare the effects of partner loss on CRFRs between paired and widowed female coyotes in an Honors Capstone Project this coming Fall semester.