Abstract:
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are persistent environmental
contaminants that challenge normal functioning neuroendocrine systems.
These systems influence social behavior and are subject to other external
challenges, like socio-sexual stress. Using a rodent model of
post-traumatic stress, Pooley and colleagues (2018) found that single
prolonged stress may produce more behavioral rather than physiological
changes in female rats. We previously observed no significant differences
in circulating corticosterone, a stress hormone, in female rats that
experienced sexual aggression during adolescence. The present study uses a
crossed model of gestational EDC exposure and/or sexual aggression during
adolescence (SCAR; Shors et al., 2016) to understand lasting behavioral
changes in anxiety and mate preference for male aggressors in female rats.
We expect higher anxiety and lower preference for aggressors in females
exposed to SCAR and decreased anxiety in EDC-exposed females. Ongoing
analyses of our studies will elucidate the unexplored effects of multiple
uncontrolled stressors over the lifespan. This advances our understanding
of neuroendocrine disruption in our everyday lives.
Best,
Ximena De La Cruz
B.S. Psychology Honors, The University of Texas at Austin
Co-President | Psi Chi- International Honor Society of Psychology