Associate Professor
E-Mail: ulibarri@vetmed.wsu.edu
Phone: (509) 335-7638
Office: Neuroscience Center 6
The goal of my research is to understand how gonadal steroids modify
mammalian sociosexual behavior. To address this goal, I focus on the
neural and behavioral effects of testosterone, the primary androgen
secreted by the testes.
During development, testosterone exerts permanent effects that alter
the sensitivity of the brain and spinal cord to steroids in adulthood.
These changes in sensitivity are expressed in adults as differences in
sociosexual behaviors such as scent marking and copulatory behavior. My
research examines the developmental effects of testosterone on
neuroanatomy and behavior. Two areas in the central nervous system, the
sexually dimorphic area (SDA) in the gerbil hypothalamus and the spinal
nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB) in area X of gerbil lumbosacaral
spinal cord, are of particular interest. The SDA plays an important role
in the control of male copulatory and marking behaviors, while the SNB
is an essential element in the control of penile movement and erection.
Molecular, behavioral, and immunological approaches are used to
determine how these neuroanatomical structures are modified during
development to produce the normal adult complement of male copulatory
behaviors.
Current studies include studies are examining the normal ontogeny of the
SDA and SNB, and the role of perinatal gonadal steroids on their
development. Additional studies include determining the behavioral
effects of perinatal steroid treatment, mapping neurotransmitters in the
SDA and SNB using immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization, and
determining the neuroanatomical projections and connections of the SDA
and SNB.
Biographical Information
Catherine Ulibarri, Associate Professor, received both her B.S. in
Biological Sciences and her Ph.D. in Psychobiology from University of
California, Irvine. Her postdoctoral study was conducted in the
Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology of the Brain Research Institute at the
UCLA School of Medicine under the guidance of Dr. Paul E. Micevych. She
joined VCAPP in 1990.
Selected Publications
Prasad, B.M.,
C. Ulibarri and B.A. Sorg. 1998. Stress-induced
cross-sensitization to cocaine: Effects of adrenalectomy and
corticosterone after short- and long-term withdrawal. Psychopharm. 125:
265-273.
Fraley, G.S., and
C. Ulibarri. 2002. Development of androgen receptor
and p75NTR mRNAs and peptides in the lumbar spinal cord of the gerbil.
Dev. Brain Res. 2 (Vol. 137): 101-114.
Fraley, G.S., and
C. Ulibarri. 2002. Long-term castration affects
motoneuron size, but not number, in the spinal nucleus of the
bulbocavernosus in the adult male Mongolian gerbil. Brain Res. 953:
265-271.
Prichett, L.C.,
C. Ulibarri, M.C. Roberts, R.K. Schneider, and D.C.
Sellon. 2002. Identification of potential physiological and behavioral
indicators of post-operative pain in horses after exploratory celiotomy
for colic. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 80: 31-43, 2002.
Prichett, L.C.,
C. Ulibarri, M.C. Roberts, R.K. Schneider, and D.C.
Sellon. 2002. Identification of potential physiological and behavioral
indictors of post-operative pain in horses after exploratory celiotomy
for colic. App. An. Behav. Sci. 80: 31-43.
Fraley, G.S., and
C. Ulibarri. 2002. Development of androgen receptor
and p75NTR mRNAs and peptides in the lumbar spinal cord of the gerbil.
Dev. Brain Res. 137: 101-114.
Fraley, G.S., and
C. Ulibarri. 2002. Long-term castration effects
motoneuron size, but not number, in the spinal nucleus of the
bulbocavernosus in the adult male Mongolian gerbil. Brain Res. 953:
265-271.
PubMed Publications (Note: PubMed Search may produce additional
"Ulibarri" authors.)
