The influence of androgens on the development of a sex difference in the vasopressinergic innervation of the rat lateral septum.
The vasopressinergic innervation of the lateral septum is much denser in male than in female rats. The present study demonstrates that, under physiological conditions, the development of this sex difference is dependent on the presence of androgens around the seventh postnatal day. It was possible, however, to induce in female or neonatally castrated male rats a fiber density as high as in control males by high doses of testosterone, given in the first, second or even third week of life.
D000818:Animals; D002369:Castration; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012688:Septum Pellucidum / Q000187:drug effects*; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000378:metabolism*
D014667:Vasopressins; D013739:Testosterone