17^th Global Neuroscience Conference October 16-17, 2017 Osaka, Japan

Liudmyla D. Popova has PhD degree, degree of doctor of biology sciences, the title of Biochemistry Department Professor. She is presently Biochemistry Department professor in Kharkiv National Medical University, Ukraine. The field of scientific interests is the study of the aggression development mechanisms. Based on her own researchresults and analysis of literary data, she believes that in order to understand the mechanisms of aggressiveness formation in human it is important to study the features of the correlations between personality traits and sex hormones, stress hormones in different populations. When interpreting the results, populational differences in personality traits should be taken into account. Oxana A. Nakonechnaya has PhD degree, degree of doctor of medicine, the title of Biochemistry Department Professor. She is presently Head of Biochemistry Department in Kharkiv National Medical University, Ukraine. Irina M. Vasylyeva has PhD degree. She is presently Biochemistry Department assistant in Kharkiv National Medical University.

Statement of the Problem: Aggression development mechanisms research is important for modern society because excessive aggression manifestations are dangerous for individual and society. Testosterone is shown to have the organizing effects on neural circuits in perinatal period. They are realized through testosterone aromatization into β-estradiol in specific brain regions. The ratio of second and fourth fingers lengths (2D:4D ratio) is believed to be retrospective biomarker of exposure to androgens during fetal development. According to this hypothesis 2D:4D ratio is negatively correlated with prenatal testosterone level. However, there are works contradicting this hypothesis, and not all authors believe that 2D: 4D ratio is good marker of prenatal exposure to androgens. The purpose of this work was to study interrelations between testosterone, β-estradiol, physical aggression and 2D:4D ratio of the right hand. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: The study involved young men (14 Indian population persons, 21 Ukrainian population individuals). Physical aggression was evaluated using Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory. The fingers length measurement was carried out using calipers. Blood serum hormone levels were determined by ELISA kits. Findings: Moderate but insignificant correlation between total blood testosterone and physical aggression was found both in the general group and men of every population. Positive correlation was found between testosterone and β-estradiol levels in men of both Indian and Ukrainian populations. In the total group and Indian population men, positive correlation between testosterone level and 2D:4D ratio was revealed. Conclusion & Significance: The results indicate weak correlation between the baseline testosterone and aggressiveness and the inability to use total blood testosterone as peripheral marker of predisposition to aggression. Positive correlation between 2D:4D ratio and testosterone indirectly indicates effects on 2D:4D ratio not only of testosterone but also other regulatory factors and the impossibility to use this ratio as retrospective biomarker of exposure to androgens during fetal development.

Alexander Trofimov is a research fellow and a PhD student at the Institute of Experimental Medicine (Saint Petersburg, Russia). He completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in 2009 and 2011 from Saint Petersburg State University, Russia. For more than 8 years, Alexander Trofimov has led research projects in several laboratories in Europe, such as University Hospital of Wuerzburg (Germany), Maastricht University (the Netherlands), the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (Portugal), Lyon University (France), and the Institute of Physiologically Active Compounds (Russia). Alexander\'s work focuses on the investigation of molecular and cellular mechanisms in the context of immune activation in CNS functioning, and in impaired brain development. For that purpose, he received a research grant from the Science and Higher Education Committee of the city of St. Petersburg (2014) and a Russian Foundation for Basic Research grant for young scientists “My First Grant” (2016-2017).\r\nEmail:

Perinatal brain pathologies are known to impair the development of CNS functioning and are involved in the etiology of chronic cognitive dysfunction. These pathological conditions are associated with high production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by the cells of the immune and nervous systems. It is well established that neurons express receptors for pro-inflammatory cytokines, which provides evidence for the functioning of cytokines as neuromodulators. However, the exact molecular and cellular mechanisms of cytokines in the impairment of brain development have not yet been fully elucidated. \r\nTo address this question, we studied the expression of neuroplasticity-regulating genes matrix metalloproteinase-9 (Mmp9) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (Timp1) in the medial prefrontal cortex, and dorsal and ventral hippocampus. Wistar rat pups were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 25 μg/kg), an inducer of pro-inflammatory cytokine synthesis, during the 3rd week of postnatal life.\r\nAdolescent and adult LPS-treated animals demonstrated increased anxiety-like behavior and decreased exploratory behavior in the open field arena. Impaired learning in the active avoidance task and Morris water maze was also observed. Gene expression of Mmp9 and Timp1 was differentially altered in the cortex and hippocampus of pups vs. adult untrained rats and remained unchanged in rats trained in either learning task, revealing that prolonged pro-inflammatory challenge during early postnatal development negatively affects the plasticity factors involved in memory acquisition in adulthood. These results suggest that an increase in cognitive stimulation might be an effective approach to reduce the negative effects of neonatal immune challenges on brain functioning. Supported by RFBR 16-34-00316.\r\n