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Sexual Differentiation of the Rodent Brain: Dogma and Beyond

Steroid hormones of gonadal origin act on the neonatal brain to produce sex differences that underlie adult reproductive physiology and behavior. Neuronal sex differences occur on a variety of levels, including differences in regional volume and/or cell number, morphology, physiology, molecular sign...

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Autores principales: Lenz, Kathryn M., Nugent, Bridget M., McCarthy, Margaret M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Research Foundation 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3282918/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22363256
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2012.00026
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author Lenz, Kathryn M.
Nugent, Bridget M.
McCarthy, Margaret M.
author_facet Lenz, Kathryn M.
Nugent, Bridget M.
McCarthy, Margaret M.
author_sort Lenz, Kathryn M.
collection PubMed
description Steroid hormones of gonadal origin act on the neonatal brain to produce sex differences that underlie adult reproductive physiology and behavior. Neuronal sex differences occur on a variety of levels, including differences in regional volume and/or cell number, morphology, physiology, molecular signaling, and gene expression. In the rodent, many of these sex differences are determined by steroid hormones, particularly estradiol, and are established by diverse downstream effects. One brain region that is potently organized by estradiol is the preoptic area (POA), a region critically involved in many behaviors that show sex differences, including copulatory and maternal behaviors. This review focuses on the POA as a case study exemplifying the depth and breadth of our knowledge as well as the gaps in understanding the mechanisms through which gonadal hormones produce lasting neural and behavioral sex differences. In the POA, multiple cell types, including neurons, astrocytes, and microglia are masculinized by estradiol. Multiple downstream molecular mediators are involved, including prostaglandins, various glutamate receptors, protein kinase A, and several immune signaling molecules. Moreover, emerging evidence indicates epigenetic mechanisms maintain sex differences in the POA that are organized perinatally and thereby produce permanent behavioral changes. We also review emerging strategies to better elucidate the mechanisms through which genetics and epigenetics contribute to brain and behavioral sex differences.
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spelling pubmed-32829182012-02-23 Sexual Differentiation of the Rodent Brain: Dogma and Beyond Lenz, Kathryn M. Nugent, Bridget M. McCarthy, Margaret M. Front Neurosci Neuroscience Steroid hormones of gonadal origin act on the neonatal brain to produce sex differences that underlie adult reproductive physiology and behavior. Neuronal sex differences occur on a variety of levels, including differences in regional volume and/or cell number, morphology, physiology, molecular signaling, and gene expression. In the rodent, many of these sex differences are determined by steroid hormones, particularly estradiol, and are established by diverse downstream effects. One brain region that is potently organized by estradiol is the preoptic area (POA), a region critically involved in many behaviors that show sex differences, including copulatory and maternal behaviors. This review focuses on the POA as a case study exemplifying the depth and breadth of our knowledge as well as the gaps in understanding the mechanisms through which gonadal hormones produce lasting neural and behavioral sex differences. In the POA, multiple cell types, including neurons, astrocytes, and microglia are masculinized by estradiol. Multiple downstream molecular mediators are involved, including prostaglandins, various glutamate receptors, protein kinase A, and several immune signaling molecules. Moreover, emerging evidence indicates epigenetic mechanisms maintain sex differences in the POA that are organized perinatally and thereby produce permanent behavioral changes. We also review emerging strategies to better elucidate the mechanisms through which genetics and epigenetics contribute to brain and behavioral sex differences. Frontiers Research Foundation 2012-02-21 /pmc/articles/PMC3282918/ /pubmed/22363256 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2012.00026 Text en Copyright © 2012 Lenz, Nugent and McCarthy. http://www.frontiersin.org/licenseagreement This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited.
spellingShingle Neuroscience
Lenz, Kathryn M.
Nugent, Bridget M.
McCarthy, Margaret M.
Sexual Differentiation of the Rodent Brain: Dogma and Beyond
title Sexual Differentiation of the Rodent Brain: Dogma and Beyond
title_full Sexual Differentiation of the Rodent Brain: Dogma and Beyond
title_fullStr Sexual Differentiation of the Rodent Brain: Dogma and Beyond
title_full_unstemmed Sexual Differentiation of the Rodent Brain: Dogma and Beyond
title_short Sexual Differentiation of the Rodent Brain: Dogma and Beyond
title_sort sexual differentiation of the rodent brain: dogma and beyond
topic Neuroscience
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3282918/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22363256
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2012.00026
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