Research interests
I am interested in how the changing hormones of pregnancy and lactation act on neural circuitry in the maternal brain to influence behaviour. In particular, I focus on maternal behaviour, a complex set of behaviours displayed by a mother that promote the survival and wellbeing of her offspring. Our work aims to understand how hormones normally act to direct a mother’s behaviour and how these processes may become disrupted.
At the Centre for Neuroendocrinology, I use transgenic mouse models to address the impact of specific neuroendocrine disruptions on maternal behaviour using behavioural assays. We investigate hormonal actions on neural circuitry underlying parental behaviour using a range of molecular, immunohistochemical and imaging approaches.
I am also interested in how changes in the ability of hormones to access the brain in different physiological or pathological states might underlie changes in hormone function.
Clinical conditions
Rosie Brown Laboratory staff & students
Jenny Clarkson, Research Fellow
Neural circuits required for maternal adaptation to pregnancy
Email jenny.clarkson@otago.ac.nz
Mary Hawkes, PhD student
Hormonal modulation of the medial preoptic area in the maternal brain
Email mary.hawkes@otago.ac.nz
Zin Khant-Aung, Assistant Research Fellow
Hormonal modulation of maternal aggression (protective behaviour)
Email zin.khantaung@otago.ac.nz
Judith Swart, PhD student
Involvement of the reward circuitry in prolactin’s regulation of maternal behaviour
Email swaju179@student.otago.ac.nz
Visit Our people for an alphabetical list of all Centre for Neuroendocrinology staff.
Publications
Swart, J. M., Grattan, D. R., Ladyman, S. R., & Brown, R. S. E. (2021). Changes in maternal motivation across reproductive states in mice: A role for prolactin receptor activation on GABA neurons. Hormones & Behavior, 135, 105041. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105041
Georgescu, T., Ladyman, S. R., Brown, R. S. E., & Grattan, D. R. (2020). Acute effects of prolactin on hypothalamic prolactin receptor expressing neurones in the mouse. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 32, e12908. doi: 10.1111/jne.12908
Gustafson, P., Ladyman, S. R., McFadden, S., Larsen, C., Khant Aung, Z., Brown, R. S. E., Bunn, S. J., & Grattan, D. R. (2020). Prolactin receptor-mediated activation of pSTAT5 in the pregnant mouse brain. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 32, e12901. doi: 10.1111/jne.12901
Stagkourakis, S., Smiley, K. O., Williams, P., Kakadellis, S., Ziegler, K., Bakker, J., Brown, R. S. E., … Grattan, D. R., & Broberger, C. (2020). A neuro-hormonal circuit for paternal behavior controlled by a hypothalamic network oscillation. Cell, 182, 960-975. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.07.007
Barad, Z., Khant Aung, Z., Grattan, D. R., Ladyman, S. R., & Brown, R. S. E. (2020). Impaired prolactin transport into the brain and functional responses to prolactin in aged male mice. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 32, e12889. doi: 10.1111/jne.12889
