UMass Boston

Neuroscience; Behavioral Neuroendocrinology; how hormones alter the developing brain; sex differences in brain, behavior and disease.

PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Fenstemaker SB, Zup SL, Frank LG, Glickman SE, Forger NG. A sex difference in the hypothalamus of the spotted hyena. Nature Neuroscience. 1999 Nov;2(11):943-5.
• Zup SL, Forger NG. Testosterone regulates BCL-2 immunoreactivity in a sexually dimorphic motor pool of adult rats. Brain Research 2002 Sep 20;950(1-2):312-6.
• Zup SL, Carrier H, Waters EM, Tabor A, Bengston L, Rosen GJ, Simerly RB, Forger NG. Overexpression of bcl-2 reduces sex differences in neuron number in the brain and spinal cord. Journal of Neuroscience. 2003 Mar 15;23(6):2357-62.
• Hoffman GE, Merchenthaler I, Zup SL. Neuroprotection by ovarian hormones in animal models of neurological disease. Endocrine. 2006 Apr;29(2):217-31.
• Speert DB, Konkle AT, Zup SL, Schwarz JM, Shiroor C, Taylor ME, McCarthy MM. Focal adhesion kinase and paxillin: novel regulators of brain sexual differentiation? Endocrinology. 2007 Jul;148(7):3391-401.
• Zhang JM, Konkle AT, Zup SL, McCarthy MM. Impact of sex and hormones on new cells in the developing rat hippocampus: a novel source of sex dimorphism? European Journal of Neuroscience. 2008 Feb;27(4):791-800.
• Kahraman S, Zup SL, McCarthy MM, Fiskum G. GABAergic mechanism of propofol toxicity in immature neurons. J Neurosurg Anesthesiol. 2008 Oct;20(4):233-40.

Professor Zup studies the role of hormones in shaping the developing brain. As a mammalian embryo develops, it must become either male or female – a process controlled primarily by hormones. These hormones permanently alter brain structures and synapses, as well as future behavior, into male-like or female-like patterns, although the precise mechanism used to achieve these differences is poorly understood. For example, one of the clearest examples of sex differences in brain and behavior is the fact that the incidence of almost every major mental health disorder is skewed toward one sex. Autism and other developmental diseases are all seen more frequently in males, suggesting that the male brain is somehow more vulnerable to developmental perturbations. Professor Zup is interested in understanding the basic mechanisms of establishing a male vs. female brain as well specifically gaining insight into the particular susceptibility of the developing male brain to diseases such as autism.