Period of maximal susceptibility to behavioral modification by testosterone in the golden hamster

Coniglio, Linda P.; Clemens, Lynwood G.

doi:10.1016/0018-506x(76)90033-7

Cited by 22 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Contrary to this prediction, however, we found that early and on-time testosterone treatments, but not late treatments, facilitated mating behavior in adulthood (Schulz et al, under review, Figure 2). In addition, the early testosterone treatments most effectively facilitated adult mating behavior, a finding supported by previous studies of steroid-dependent behavioral organization prior to puberty (Coniglio and Clemens, 1976; Eaton, 1970). These findings extend our knowledge of neurobehavioral development by demonstrating: 1) adolescence is not a sensitive period for testosterone-dependent behavioral organization distinct from the neonatal period, but rather, adolescence is part of a protracted sensitive period that likely begins perinatally and ends in late adolescence; and 2) the timing of testosterone secretion within this postnatal window programs expression of adult mating behavior.…”

Section: Windows Of Sensitivity To Testicular Hormonessupporting

confidence: 79%

Back to the future: The organizational–activational hypothesis adapted to puberty and adolescence

Schulz

Molenda-Figueira

Sisk

2009

Hormones and Behavior

513

386

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Phoenix, Goy, Gerall, and Young first proposed in 1959 the organizational-activational hypothesis of hormone-driven sex differences in brain and behavior. The original hypothesis posited that exposure to steroid hormones early in development masculinizes and defeminizes neural circuits, programming behavioral responses to hormones in adulthood. This hypothesis has inspired a multitude of experiments demonstrating that the perinatal period is a time of maximal sensitivity to gonadal steroid hormones. However, recent work from our laboratory and others demonstrates that steroid-dependent organization of behavior also occurs during adolescence, prompting a reassessment of the developmental time-frame within which organizational effects are possible. In addition, we present evidence that adolescence is part of a single protracted postnatal sensitive period for steroid-dependent organization of male mating behavior that begins perinatally and ends in late adolescence. These findings are consistent with the original formulation of the organizational/ activational hypothesis, but extend our notions of what constitutes "early" development considerably. Finally, we present evidence that female behaviors also undergo steroid-dependent organization during adolescence, and that social experience modulates steroid-dependent adolescent brain and behavioral development. The implications for human adolescent development are also discussed, especially with respect to how animal models can help to elucidate the factors underlying the association between pubertal timing and adult psychopathology in humans.The 1959 landmark paper by Phoenix, Goy, Gerall, and Young first posited what became the organizational-activational hypothesis of hormone-driven sex differences in brain and behavior (Phoenix et al., 1959). In this hypothetical framework, a transient rise in testosterone during prenatal or early postnatal development masculinizes and defeminizes neural circuits in males, while the absence of testosterone in females results in development of a feminine neural phenotype. Upon gonadal maturation during puberty, testicular and ovarian hormones act on previously sexually differentiated circuits to facilitate expression of sex-typical behaviors in particular social contexts. Research in the 1960-70s identified a maximally sensitive period for hormone-dependent sexual differentiation that occurs during late prenatal and early neonatal development (reviewed in Baum, 1979;Wallen and Baum, 2002). Thus, the original conception was that steroid hormones organize brain structure during an early developmental sensitive period, and activate behavior during puberty and into adulthood.Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the...

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Section: Windows Of Sensitivity To Testicular Hormonessupporting

confidence: 79%

Back to the future: The organizational–activational hypothesis adapted to puberty and adolescence

Schulz

Molenda-Figueira

Sisk

2009

Hormones and Behavior

513

386

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“…The absence here of mounting and intromission in animals treated neonatally with fluoxymesterone, in spite of marked genital yirilization, agrees with other work on the hamster which has demonstrated a dissociation of sexual behavior and genital virilization (Coniglio & Clemens, 1976; Paup et al, 1974). These results with the hamster contrast with those obtained in the rat wherein mounting and intromission are not totally abolished by neonatal castration (Hart, 1972(Hart, , 1977Larsson, 1966).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Presumably greater intensity of testosterone stimulation, as provided by the propionate form, would be needed to establish the potential for ejaculation. Numerous studies have shown that free testosterone is not as effective as TP in a brief neonatal exposure (Coniglio & Clemens, 1976;Coniglio et al, 1973a, b;Luttge & Whalen, 1970;Paup et al, 1972;Payne, 1979).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluoxymesterone and the development of sexual behavior in the golden hamster

Vomachka

Clemens

1981

Developmental Psychobiology

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Male hamsters castrated at birth and female hamsters were treated on postnatal Days 2-4 with 100 fig of testosterone, 100 pg of fluoxymesterone, or the hormone vehicle. As adults. mounting behavior and lordosis were measured following exogenous hormone treatment. Although the degree of penile or clitoral virilization did not appear to differ between testosterone-and fluoxymesterone-treated animals, behavioral differences occurred. Neonatal treatment with fluoxymesterone failed to "masculinize" or "defeminize" behavior; neonatal testosterone treatment induced mounting in males and females and intromission in males. These results, along with those of others, indicate that fluoxymesterone has little or no central neural effect on sexual behavior in the hamster.

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“…In a variety of rodents, including the hamster, postnatal treatment with testosterone or estrogen induces male sexual behavior in females (masculinization), whereas removal of gonadal steroids by postnatal castration eliminates male sexual behavior in males (demasculinization) 49. The window for masculinization is very narrow in the hamster 50. Treatment with steroids is most effective on the first day of birth and gradually declines in effectiveness during the subsequent 3 days and has no effect from postnatal day 5 to adulthood.…”

Section: Gonadal Steroids Organize the Sex Differences In Behavior Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

The MPN mag

Swann

Wang

Govek

2003

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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Mating behavior in male hamsters is regulated by a chemosensory pathway that converges on the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) and the medial nucleus of the amygdala (Me). Both the BST and the Me project to the lateral part of the medial preoptic area. Lesion studies have identified a small group of large cells referred to as the magnocellular medial preoptic nucleus (MPN mag) whose integrity is required for normal mating behavior. Our data, summarized within, indicate that the MPN mag is a sexually differentiated nucleus in a large steroid-responsive network that relays pheromonal signals from the sensory systems to the motor areas to affect behavior.

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Period of maximal susceptibility to behavioral modification by testosterone in the golden hamster

Cited by 22 publications

References 19 publications

Back to the future: The organizational–activational hypothesis adapted to puberty and adolescence

Back to the future: The organizational–activational hypothesis adapted to puberty and adolescence

Fluoxymesterone and the development of sexual behavior in the golden hamster

The MPN mag

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