Interhemispheric coupling coefficients: sex differences in brain neurochemistry.
Previously it was shown that the presence of a significant positive correlation between measures of the right and left hemispheres may be taken as evidence of a negative feedback loop linking the hemispheres [Denenberg, V. H. Am. J. Physiol. 238 (Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol. 7): R3-R13, 1980]. Such a finding is indicative of a different form of brain organization, compared with brains that lack this correlation. The purpose of this paper was to compare male and female rats with respect to correlations of left- and right-sided values for a set of brain neurochemicals. The variable of sex was chosen because there are ample data showing differences in brain organization. Neurochemical correlations in the nucleus accumbens and the striatum did not demonstrate any sex difference, but differences were found in neocortex: female rats had significantly greater hemispheric correlations than males for dopamine, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and serotonin turnover.
D000818:Animals; D001679:Biogenic Amines / Q000032:analysis; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012737:Sex Factors; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D001679:Biogenic Amines