Dihydrotestosterone promotes fighting behavior of female mice

Schechter, Dianne; Howard, Steven M.; Gandelman, Ronald

doi:10.1016/0018-506x(81)90012-x

Cited by 16 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The brains of mammalian (27) and avian species (3) appear to be a target organ with 5a-reducing metabolic processes similar to those described for the peripheral androgen dependent structures. The 5a-reduced metabolite, dihydrotestosterone, has been found to exert the same organising and activating influence on brain tissue as testosterone in mice (30,40), but not in hamsters (31). In the brains of several mammals and some bird species, as well as in some other tissues, the 5a-reductase and hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase pathways coexist with another metabolic process, which transforms androgens into oestrogens through aromatisation (3,22,27).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The early hormonal state is considered a determining factor for the development of the brain as a mediator for future aggressive responses (10,38). There is evidence that exposure to testosterone during a critical period perinatally or neonatally has an organising effect on the developing brain (2,10,25,33,40,43). Adult male animals with perinatally or neonatally organised brains have been found to react more aggressively under the activating influence of testosterone and appropriate aggression-eliciting environmental stimuli than do adults not exposed to testosterone prepubertally (2,10,25,38,40).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are data supporting the view that only after exposure to testosterone, during a critical developmental period, can the brain tissue mediate male behaviour. If not exposed to testosterone during a period in early life, the central nervous system will mediate only female behaviour later in life (2,6,25,38,40).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Androgens, progestagens and agonistic behaviour: A review

Knol

Egberink‐Alink²

1989

Veterinary Quarterly

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SUMMARY The relationship between androgens, progestagens and agonistic behaviour is reviewed. Most literature concerned the effects of hormones on aggression; little information was available on hormonal influences on fear. Difference in aggression levels between males and females may be explained by assuming the existence of a gender difference in motivation, which, among other factors, is controlled by androgen and progestagen levels in peripheral blood.Androgens and progestagens are metabolised mainly by 5a-reductase in the target organs. In the brain, aromatisation of testosterone also plays a role. The metabolites of testosterone may exert the same organising and activating influence as testosterone on juvenile and adult brain tissue, respectively. In some animal species testosterone secretion appears to be influenced by social and environmental variables. Conversely, alterations in plasma androgen levels have been found to affect behaviour. Dominant and/or aggressive individuals tend to show higher plasma testosterone levels than submissive and/or less aggressive animals. Among other mechanisms, competitive inhibition of androgen action at a central level, by progestagens acting as antagonists of androgens, may be important.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Androgens, progestagens and agonistic behaviour: A review

Knol

Egberink‐Alink²

1989

Veterinary Quarterly

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“…The most widely advocated position is that the aromatization of T to estradiol (FQ) is an important step for the induction of fighting behavior and that E2 is the active aggression-promoting agent [Beatty, 1979;Clark and Nowell, 1979,19801. However, others have presented data that suggest that a direct androgenic effect of T can support fighting behavior [Schecter et al, 1981;Simon et al, 19811. And finally, one group of researchers has proposed that a combined androgenic and estrogenic action of T mediates the activation of aggression [Finney and Erpino, 19761. The differences among these viewpoints suggest first, that there may be more than one pathway through which T can promote aggression and second, that a factor determining the functional aggression-activating pathway has been overlooked by proponents of a unitary neuroendocrine regulatory mechanism for aggression.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hormonal regulation of aggression: Evidence for a relationship among genotype, receptor binding, and behavioral sensitivity to androgen and estrogen

Simon¹,

Whalen²

1986

Aggr. Behav.

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Gonadectomized male mice from the CF‐1, CFW, and CD‐1 strains were exposed to different androgens (testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, methyltrienolone) or estrogens (estradiol, diethylstilbestrol) and tested for aggressive behavior. Genetic differences in sensitivity to the aggression‐promoting property of the various treatments were found. CF‐1 mice responded to either androgenic or estrogenic stimulation, CFW males were most sensitive to the estrogen treatments, while CD‐1 males responded to androgen but were relatively insensitive to the aggression‐promoting property of estrogens. These data suggest that there may be multiple aggression‐activating systems and that the functional pathway varies with genotype. Additional experiments examined whether receptor binding in the hypothalamic‐preoptic‐septal region was related to the genetic differences in behavioral responsiveness. The binding data suggested that sensitivity to the aggression‐promoting property of estrogens was related to either a higher concentration of binding sites or to higher affinity binding between estrogen and its receptor. A systematic relationship between dihydrotestosterone binding and behavioral responsiveness to androgen was not found.

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A guide to the literature on aggressive behavior

1982

Aggr. Behav.

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Dihydrotestosterone promotes fighting behavior of female mice

Cited by 16 publications

References 12 publications

Androgens, progestagens and agonistic behaviour: A review

Androgens, progestagens and agonistic behaviour: A review

Hormonal regulation of aggression: Evidence for a relationship among genotype, receptor binding, and behavioral sensitivity to androgen and estrogen

A guide to the literature on aggressive behavior

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