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Research: Gonadal steroids and synthetic compounds that mimic them have dramatic effects on the development and function of the vertebrate nervous system. Leslie Henderson's laboratory studies how gonadal steroids (androgens, estrogens and progestins) and their derivatives alter the expression and function of ion channel proteins involved in synaptic signaling. The laboratory's experiments are focused on two major themes. First, the group is determining how anabolic androgenic steroids ( AAS) regulate the expression and function of gamma-aminobutyric acid type A neurotransmitter receptors, the proteins that mediate inhibition in the mammalian brain. Second, the laboratory is studying how environmental toxicants (endocrine disruptors or EDCs) that interfere with gonadal steroid signaling pathways alter neural differentiation and synaptogenesis during development.