George Bentley

Assistant Professor (Integrative Biology)

Email: gb7@berkeley.edu

Web site: http://ib.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/person_detail.php?person=17

Research areas: Systems and Computational Neuroscience

Broad Research Area: Neural integration and transduction of environmental cues into endocrine signals. Sexual behavior, seasonality of reproduction and endocrine influence upon immune function are all lines of research in our laboratory. We mostly study seasonally-breeding birds, but presently also have collaborative projects on fish, hamsters, horses, sheep and humans.

Selected Publications

Kriegsfeld LJ, Feng-Mei D, Bentley GE, Ukena K, Tsutsui, K, Silver, R. (in press). Identification and Characterization of a Gonadotropin-Inhibitory System in the Brains of Mammals Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Takayoshi Ubuka, Kazuyoshi Ukena, Peter J. Sharp, George E. Bentley and Kazuyoshi Tsutsui (in press). Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone inhibits gonadal development and maintenance by decreasing gonadotropin synthesis and release Endocrinology.

George E. Bentley, Jay P. Jensen, Gurpinder J. Kaur, Douglas W. Wacker, Kazuyoshi Ukena, Kazuyoshi Tsutsui and John C. Wingfield (in press). Rapid inhibition of female sexual receptivity by gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) Hormones and Behavior.

Ubuka, T., G.E. Bentley, K. Ukena, J.C. Wingfield, and K. Tsutsui 2005. Melatonin induces the expression of gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone in the avian brain Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102: 3052-3057.

Osugi, T., K. Ukena, G.E. Bentley, S. O'Brien, I.T. Moore, J.C. Wingfield, and K. Tsutsui 2004. Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone in Gambel's white-crowned sparrows: cDNA identification, transcript localization and functional effects in laboratory and field experiments Journal of Endocrinology 182: 33-42.

Bentley, G.E. 2003. Melatonin receptor density in Area X of European starlings is correlated with reproductive state and is unaffected by plasma melatonin concentration General and Comparative Endocrinology 134: 187-192.

Bentley, G.E., N. Perfito, K. Ukena, K. Tsutsui, and J.C. Wingfield 2003. Gonadotropin-inhibitory peptide in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) in different reproductive conditions, and in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) relative to chicken-gonadotropin-releasing hormone Journal of Neuroendocrinology 15: 794-802.

Bentley, G.E., J.C. Wingfield, M.L. Morton, and G.F. Ball 2000. Conspecific and heterospecific male song both have stimulatory effects upon the reproductive axis in female songbirds Hormones and Behavior 37: 179-189.

Bentley, G.E., T.J. Van't Hof, and G.F. Ball 1999. Seasonal neuroplasticity in the songbird telencephalon: A role for melatonin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 96: 4674-4679.

Ubuka, T., G.E. Bentley, K. Ukena, J.C. Wingfield, and K. Tsutsui 2005. Melatonin induces the expression of gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone in the Nature Reviews Neuroscience: Nature Reviews Highlight 6: 264.