title: Pre- and postnatal influence of testosterone propionate and diethylstilbestrol on differentiation of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area in male and female rats.
abstract: The volume of the sexually dimorphic nucleus in the preoptic area (SDN-POA) of the rat brain is several fold larger in males than in females. When female rats were treated pre- and postnatally with testosterone propionate (TP) or with diethylstilbestrol (DES) they became anovulatory and their SDN-POA developed equivalent in size to that of normal males. Identical treatment of male rats resulted in deficient testicular development, but had no influence on SDN-POA volume. The results indicate that the gross morphological sex difference in SDN-POA volume can exclusively be controlled by the hormonal environment during the critical period of sexual brain differentiation, and that non-steroidal estrogens are just as effective as convertible androgens in stimulating SDN-POA differentiation.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004054:Diethylstilbestrol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010060:Ovulation / Q000187:drug effects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011301:Preoptic Area / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000187:drug effects; D013739:Testosterone / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone; D004054:Diethylstilbestrol