Department of Biology, North Carolina State University

Heather B. Patisaul

Current Projects

We have found soy phytoestrogens are anxiogenic in males, but anxiolytic in proestrus females.  We are now examining the mechanisms by which this may occur using a variety of techniques.  We are also exploring the possibility that exposure to endocrine disruptors can increase aggressive behavior in males, an avenue of research that may yield clues as to how and why rates of conduct disorder and ADHD in boys are increasing.

Determine how endocrine active compounds affect anxiety and aggression.

Female rats display a posture called lordosis when receptive.  Males do not.  Other behaviors, in rats and humans, are also sexually dimorphic and thought to be organized by steroid hormones in development.  We are exploring the hypothesis that ERβ plays an important role in the ontogeny of brain sex differences.

Describe how ERβ influences sexually dimorphic circuits in the hypothalamus.

Exposure to soy phytoestrogens, Bisphenol-A and other endocrine disrupting compounds may have permanent and persistent effects on adult physiology and behavior.  We are currently working to determine if exposure to these compounds during development can ultimately advance pubertal onset, disrupt the regulation of the ovulatory cycle and impair fertility in females.  Disruption can occur at the level of the brain, the ovary, or both so we are examining both endpoints.  Studies are underway to determine the molecular mechanisms by which endocrine disruptors act within the brain and the ovary to affect reproductive physiology in females using a rat model, with a specific focus on signaling pathways that involve estrogen receptors.  

Assess how neonatal exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds affects fertility and the timing of puberty in females.