Sex differences in the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala in the rat.
It has been hypothesized that the vomeronasal system (VNS), a complex neural network implicated in the control of reproductive behaviors, is sexually dimorphic. The posteromedial cortical amygdaloid nucleus (PMCo) belongs to the group of amygdaloid structures that receive direct olfactory input from the accessory olfactory bulb. In the present study we looked for sex differences in this nucleus in male and female adult rats and we found that the males had larger volumes and more neurons than the females. These results support the hypothesis that the VNS is a sexually dimorphic system.
Departamento de Psicobiología, UNED, Madrid, Spain.
C
C
Vinader-Caerols
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P
Collado
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S
Segovia
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A
Guillamón
D000679:Amygdala / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012727:Sex Characteristics