Charles Roselli, Ph.D.
- Professor of Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry, School of Medicine
- Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine
Biography
Research in my lab concerns the actions of sex hormones in the brain. In mammals, brain tissue, particularly that which is involved in neuroendocrine function and reproductive behavior, contains high levels of cytochrome P450 aromatase. This enzyme converts circulating testosterone into estradiol. Although estradiol is generally considered a female hormone, aromatization seems to constitute a complementary signal pathway for androgen action in certain brain tissues. Estrogens are known to exert profound feedback effects on the brain that regulate reproduction and, more generally, are able to induce synaptic connections and protect neurons from injury. Locally-synthesized estradiol appears to play a role in male physiology that augments effects exerted by circulating testosterone. Our current research uses sheep to address the question of how testosterone acts during development to organize male-typical features of brain morphology and neurochemistry to produce associated sex-differences in reproductive behaviors. Sex differences in brain development are important to understand because they underlie robust neurological differences between healthy males and females and contribute to sex biases in the incidence of certain brain diseases and psychiatric conditions.
Areas of interest
- Reproduction
- Neuroendocrinology
- Sexual differentiation
- Sex difference
Additional information
Publications
Publications
Effect of Fetal Pituitary-Testes Suppression on Brain Sexual Differentiation and Reproductive Function in Male Sheep
EndocrinologyAndrogen receptors immunoreactivity in the rat brain of males with same-sex preference
Hormones and BehaviorIdentification of differential hypothalamic DNA methylation and gene expression associated with sexual partner preferences in rams
PloS oneThe GnRH Antagonist Degarelix Suppresses Gonadotropin Secretion and Pituitary Sensitivity in Midgestation Sheep Fetuses
EndocrinologyRole for Kisspeptin and Neurokinin B in Regulation of Luteinizing Hormone and Testosterone Secretion in the Fetal Sheep
EndocrinologyIn vivo magnetic resonance imaging reveals the effect of gonadal hormones on morphological and functional brain sexual dimorphisms in adult sheep
PsychoneuroendocrinologyCardiac myocyte proliferation and maturation near term is inhibited by early gestation maternal testosterone exposure
American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory PhysiologyEarly prenatal androgen exposure reduces testes size and sperm concentration in sheep without altering neuroendocrine differentiation and masculine sexual behavior
Domestic Animal EndocrinologyFos expression in the olfactory pathway of high- and low-sexually performing rams exposed to urine from estrous or ovariectomized ewes
Applied Animal Behaviour ScienceTyrosine hydroxylase in the ventral tegmental area of rams with high or low libido—A role for dopamine
Animal Reproduction ScienceEffects of Long-Term Flutamide Treatment During Development on Sexual Behaviour and Hormone Responsiveness in Rams
Journal of NeuroendocrinologyExcess testosterone exposure alters hypothalamic-pituitary-Testicular axis dynamics and gene expression in sheep fetuses
EndocrinologyEffect of testosterone on neuronal morphology and neuritic growth of fetal lamb hypothalamus-preoptic area and cerebral cortex in primary culture
PloS oneCell death in the central division of the medial preoptic nucleus of male and female lamb fetuses
Brain researchPrenatal influence of an androgen agonist and antagonist on the differentiation of the ovine sexually dimorphic nucleus in male and female lamb fetuses
EndocrinologySex differences in expression of oestrogen receptor α but not androgen receptor mRNAs in the foetal lamb brain
Journal of NeuroendocrinologyNeonatal testosterone exposure protects adult male rats from stroke
NeuroendocrinologyRapid effects of 17β-estradiol on male copulatory behaviors are not elicited by the novel membrane active estrogenic compound STX
Behavioral NeuroscienceOntogeny of Cytochrome P450 Aromatase mRNA Expression in the Developing Sheep Brain
Journal of NeuroendocrinologyLocalization of brain 5α-reductase messenger RNA in mice selectively bred for high chronic alcohol withdrawal severity
AlcoholSeparate critical periods exist for testosterone-induced differentiation of the brain and genitals in sheep
Endocrinology