Assistant Professor of Biology Janet Bester-Meredith recently received a $40,000 grant from the Murdock Foundation under its "College Research Program for the Life Sciences.” The grant will fund her project titled “The Social Brain and Vasopressin: Regulation of the Maternal Behavior and Aggression in the California Mouse.” She explains.
“The transition to motherhood involves neurobiological changes that affect the way a female responds to offspring and other individuals. This project examines whether a chemical found in the brain, arginine vasopressin (AVP), is associated with these changes in behavior. The first part of this project examines how increasing maternal experience alters maternal behavior and AVP. A second part uses injections of AVP and chemicals that block AVP to test the direct effects of AVP on maternal behavior and maternal aggression.”
Congratulations, Professor Bester-Meredith!
Posted: Wednesday, August 3, 2011