Glucocorticoids, Hippocampus, and the Development of        Spatial Learning
{'Code': '08090200', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'IOS', 'LongName': 'Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Fred Stollnitz', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
Glucocorticoids are hormones secreted from the adrenal glands of animals        and human beings.  These hormones are known to influence brain function         and behavior in both adult and developing organisms.  The hippocampus, a        brain area involved in memory and learning, is a particularly important         target site of glucocorticoid action.                                                                                                                           Previous research has demonstrated that altered glucocorticoid levels           early in life significantly modify the development of the hippocampus,          yet few studies have examined the functional consequences of these              changes in brain organization.  Dr. Meyer will perform experiments in           which young laboratory rats will be exposed to either very low                  glucocorticoid levels (by surgically removing their adrenal glands) or          high levels (produced by injection of hormones into non-operated                animals).  Appropriate control procedures will also be performed.  All          subjects will subsequently be tested in a spatial-learning task, the            Morris water maze, that critically depends on the hippocampus for normal        performance.  Separate animals from each group will be studied at               different ages, thereby enabling Dr. Meyer to detect disturbances in the        normal developmental appearance of spatial-learning ability.                                                                                                    These experiments will provide important new information about the role         of glucocorticoids in normal behavioral development as well as the              potential deleterious effects of early exposure to high levels of               hormones, as sometimes occurs in human clinical situations.
{'FirstName': 'Jerrold', 'LastName': 'Meyer', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'S', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Jerrold S Meyer', 'EmailAddress': 'jmeyer@psych.umass.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000317083', 'StartDate': '09/01/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'University of Massachusetts Amherst', 'CityName': 'AMHERST', 'ZipCode': '010039252', 'PhoneNumber': '4135450698', 'StreetAddress': '101 COMMONWEALTH AVE', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Massachusetts', 'StateCode': 'MA', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '02', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'MA02', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'VGJHK59NMPK9', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': 'VGJHK59NMPK9'}
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{'Code': '1160', 'Text': 'IBN ANIMAL BEHAVIOR'}
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