|
| Mailing Address |
| Department of Cell & Systems Biology University of Toronto 3359 Mississauga Road Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6 Canada |
| Contact Information |
| Office phone: 905-828-3956 Office: CCT 408 Lab: DV 1025 Lab phone: 905-828-3874 Email: melissa.holmes@utoronto.ca URL: http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/index.php?id=mholmes |
| Research Areas |
| Animal Biology Neurobiology Psychology & Behavior |
| Research |
|
One overarching long-term goal of our research is to better understand how social status influences structure and function in the mammalian brain. To achieve this goal, we study a uniquely social animal: the naked mole-rat. These animals live in large groups with a very strict social hierarchy. By comparing the brains of male and female as well as dominant and subordinate animals, we have demonstrated that, in contrast to most other mammals, social status is more important than sex for determining neural morphology in this species. More recently, we have demonstrated that social status controls adult neurogenesis in the extended limbic system. Our current work is exploring the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying status-induced plasticity in brain and behaviour, with a particular focus on steroid hormones and oxytocin. |
| Publications |
2014Top |
| Peripheral administration of oxytocin increases social affiliation in the naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber).Mooney SJ, Douglas NR, Holmes MM. Horm Behav 2014 Apr;65(4):380-5 pubmed |
| A game of thrones: neural plasticity in mammalian social hierarchies.Mooney SJ, Peragine DE, Hathaway GA, Holmes MM. Soc Neurosci 2014;9(2):108-17 pubmed |
| Differential effects of chronic fluoxetine on the behavior of dominant and subordinate naked mole-rats.Mongillo DL, Kosyachkova EA, Nguyen TM, Holmes MM. Behav. Brain Res. 2014 Jan;258:119-26 pubmed |
2013Top |
| Androgen receptor distribution in the social decision-making network of eusocial naked mole-rats.Holmes MM, Van Mil S, Bulkowski C, Goldman SL, Goldman BD, Forger NG. Behav. Brain Res. 2013 Nov;256:214-8 pubmed |
| Socially regulated reproductive development: analysis of GnRH-1 and kisspeptin neuronal systems in cooperatively breeding naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber).Zhou S, Holmes MM, Forger NG, Goldman BD, Lovern MB, Caraty A, Kalló I, Faulkes CG, Coen CW. J. Comp. Neurol. 2013 Sep;521(13):3003-29 pubmed |
| Altered anxiety and defensive behaviors in Bax knockout mice.Luedke AC, Boucher PO, Niel L, Holmes MM. Behav. Brain Res. 2013 Feb;239:115-20 pubmed |
2012Top |
| Maintenance of the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus neuromuscular system is not influenced by physiological levels of glucocorticoids.Niel L, Alves PA, Pinzon N, Holmes MM, Lovern MB, Monks DA. Dev Neurobiol 2012 Aug;72(8):1114-21 pubmed |
2011Top |
| Effects of Bax gene deletion on social behaviors and neural response to olfactory cues in mice.Holmes MM, Niel L, Anyan JJ, Griffith AT, Monks DA, Forger NG. Eur. J. Neurosci. 2011 Nov;34(9):1492-9 pubmed |
| Social status and sex effects on neural morphology in Damaraland mole-rats, Fukomys damarensis.Anyan JJ, Seney ML, Holley A, Bengston L, Goldman BD, Forger NG, Holmes MM. Brain Behav. Evol. 2011;77(4):291-8 pubmed |
| Social and hormonal triggers of neural plasticity in naked mole-rats.Holmes MM, Seney ML, Goldman BD, Forger NG. Behav. Brain Res. 2011 Mar;218(1):234-9 pubmed |
2009Top |
| Sexual dimorphism and hormone responsiveness in the spinal cord of the socially monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster).Holmes MM, Musa M, Lonstein JS, Monks DA. J. Comp. Neurol. 2009 Sep;516(2):117-24 pubmed |
| Neuroendocrinology and sexual differentiation in eusocial mammals.Holmes MM, Goldman BD, Goldman SL, Seney ML, Forger NG. Front Neuroendocrinol 2009 Oct;30(4):519-33 pubmed |
2008Top |
| Social status and sex independently influence androgen receptor expression in the eusocial naked mole-rat brain.Holmes MM, Goldman BD, Forger NG. Horm Behav 2008 Aug;54(2):278-85 pubmed |
2007Top |
| Social control of brain morphology in a eusocial mammal.Holmes MM, Rosen GJ, Jordan CL, de Vries GJ, Goldman BD, Forger NG. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2007 Jun;104(25):10548-52 pubmed |
| Androgen dependent seasonal changes in muscle fiber type in the dewlap neuromuscular system of green anoles.Holmes MM, Bartrem CL, Wade J. Physiol. Behav. 2007 Aug;91(5):601-8 pubmed |
2005Top |
| Sexual differentiation of the copulatory neuromuscular system in green anoles (Anolis carolinensis): normal ontogeny and manipulation of steroid hormones.Holmes MM, Wade J. J. Comp. Neurol. 2005 Sep;489(4):480-90 pubmed |
| Normally occurring intersexuality and testosterone induced plasticity in the copulatory system of adult leopard geckos.Holmes MM, Putz O, Crews D, Wade J. Horm Behav 2005 Apr;47(4):439-45 pubmed |
2004Top |
| Seasonal plasticity in the copulatory neuromuscular system of green anole lizards: a role for testosterone in muscle but not motoneuron morphology.Holmes MM, Wade J. J. Neurobiol. 2004 Jul;60(1):1-11 pubmed |
| Effects of testosterone on the development of neuromuscular systems and their target tissues involved in courtship and copulation in green anoles (Anolis carolinensis).Lovern MB, Holmes MM, Fuller CO, Wade J. Horm Behav 2004 May;45(5):295-305 pubmed |
| Adult hippocampal neurogenesis and voluntary running activity: circadian and dose-dependent effects.Holmes MM, Galea LA, Mistlberger RE, Kempermann G. J. Neurosci. Res. 2004 Apr;76(2):216-22 pubmed |
| Characterization of projections from a sexually dimorphic motor nucleus in the spinal cord of adult green anoles.Holmes MM, Wade J. J. Comp. Neurol. 2004 Mar;471(2):180-7 pubmed |
| The green anole (Anolis carolinensis): a reptilian model for laboratory studies of reproductive morphology and behavior.Lovern MB, Holmes MM, Wade J. ILAR J 2004;45(1):54-64 pubmed |
2002Top |
| Low levels of estradiol facilitate, whereas high levels of estradiol impair, working memory performance on the radial arm maze.Holmes MM, Wide JK, Galea LA. Behav. Neurosci. 2002 Oct;116(5):928-34 pubmed |
| Defensive behavior and hippocampal cell proliferation: differential modulation by naltrexone during stress.Holmes MM, Galea LA. Behav. Neurosci. 2002 Feb;116(1):160-8 pubmed |