Early effects of gonadal steroids on the neuron number in the medial posterior region and the lateral division of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the rat.

This work investigates the possible existence of sex differences in the number of neurons in the medial posterior region (BNSTMp) and the lateral division (BNSTL) of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the rat. These two zones of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis belong, respectively, to the vomeronasal system (VNS), and to the main olfactory system (MOS). In the BNSTMp, males showed a greater number of neurons than females. Early postnatal (Day 1 after birth) orchidectomy in males, and androgenization in females, eliminated and reversed these differences. In the BNSTL, sexual dimorphism was restricted to its anterior region (BNSTLa). Females showed there a greater number of neurons than males. Male orchidectomy on Day 1 after birth increased the number of neurons, while female androgenization produced the opposite effect. The results obtained in this study support the hypothesis that the VNS is sexodimorphic, and suggest that sex differences exist in MOS, and that these differences are controlled by gonadal steroids during the perinatal period.

[1]  W. Cowan,et al.  The connections of the septal region in the rat , 1979, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[2]  P. Kalivas,et al.  Neurotensin: Topographical distribution in rat brain by immunohistochemistry , 1982, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[3]  Martin H. Teicher,et al.  Olfactory and vomeronasal system mediation of maternal recognition in the developing rat. , 1984, Brain research.

[4]  L. Swanson,et al.  The organization of neural inputs to the medial preoptic nucleus of the rat , 1986, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[5]  C. Saper.  Organization of cerebral cortical afferent systems in the rat. II. Magnocellular basal nucleus , 1984, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[6]  M. L. Berk,et al.  Afferent projections to the preoptic area and hypothalamic regions in the rat brain , 1981, Neuroscience.

[7]  S. Segovia,et al.  Effects of sex steroids on the development of the accessory olfactory bulb mitral cells in the rat. , 1986, Brain research.

[8]  G. A. Kevetter,et al.  Connections of the corticomedial amygdala in the golden hamster. I. Efferents of the “vomeronasal amygdala” , 1981, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[9]  Benjamin D. Sachs,et al.  Penile reflexes and copulatory behavior in male rats following lesions in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis , 1979, Brain Research Bulletin.

[10]  H. López,et al.  Investigation of peripeduncular-hypothalamic pathways involved in the control of Lordosis in the rat , 1982, Brain Research.

[11]  S. S. Winans,et al.  Amygdaloid Nucleus: New Afferent Input from the Vomeronasal Organ , 1970, Science.

[12]  B. Gorzalka,et al.  Cholecystokinin-octapeptide produces inhibition of lordosis in the female rat , 1984, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

[13]  C. Leonard,et al.  Origin and distribution of the amygdalofugal pathways in the rat: An experimental neuronatomical study , 1971 .

[14]  A. Weindl,et al.  Substance P-immunoreactive neurons in the brainstem of the cat related to cardiovascular centers , 2004, Cell and Tissue Research.

[15]  G. A. Kevetter,et al.  Connections of the corticomedial amygdala in the golden hamster. II. Efferents of the “olfactory amygdala” , 1981, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[16]  A. McDonald,et al.  Neurons of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis: A golgi study in the rat , 1983, Brain Research Bulletin.

[17]  J. Witkin,et al.  Luteinizing hormone‐releasing hormone (LHRH) in rat olfactory systems , 1983, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[18]  S. Segovia,et al.  Effects of sex steroids on the development of the accessory olfactory bulb in the rat: a volumetric study. , 1984, Brain research.

[19]  T. Crow,et al.  Distribution of neuropeptides in the limbic system of the rat: The amygdaloid complex , 1982, Neuroscience.

[20]  M. Meredith,et al.  Effects of volatile and nonvolatile chemical signals on male sex behaviors mediated by the main and accessory olfactory systems. , 1984, Behavioral neuroscience.

[21]  C. Beltramino,et al.  Effect of electrochemical stimulation in the olfactory bulbs on the release of gonadotropin hormones in rats. , 1979, Neuroendocrinology.

[22]  A. Allison,et al.  THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE OLFACTORY SYSTEM IN THE VERTEBRATES , 1953 .

[23]  L. Swanson,et al.  The distribution of monoaminergic cells and fibers in a periventricular preoptic nucleus involved in the control of gonadotropin release: Immunohistochemical evidence for a dopaminergic sexual dimorphism , 1985, Brain Research.

[24]  Toran-Allerand Cd.  On the genesis of sexual differentiation of the general nervous system: morphogenetic consequences of steroidal exposure and possible role of alpha-fetoprotein. , 1984 .

[25]  R. Holloway,,et al.  Sexual dimorphism in the human corpus callosum. , 1982, Science.

[26]  A. Fleming,et al.  Vomeronasal and olfactory system modulation of maternal behavior in the rat. , 1979, Science.

[27]  J. Price,et al.  Amygdaloid projections to subcortical structures within the basal forebrain and brainstem in the rat and cat , 1978, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[28]  G Raisman,et al.  The central olfactory connexions. , 1965, Journal of anatomy.

[29]  S. Segovia,et al.  Effects of sex steroids on the development of the locus coeruleus in the rat. , 1988, Brain research.

[30]  S. Segovia,et al.  Effects of sex steroids on the development of the vomeronasal organ in the rat. , 1982, Brain research.

[31]  Benjamin D. Sachs,et al.  Copulatory behavior in male rats with lesions in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis , 1976, Physiology & Behavior.

[32]  S. Segovia,et al.  The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the rat: regional sex differences controlled by gonadal steroids early after birth. , 1987, Brain research.

[33]  S. Segovia,et al.  Effects of sex steroids on the development of two granule cell subpopulations in the rat accessory olfactory bulb. , 1986, Brain research.

[34]  B. Konigsmark,et al.  Methods for counting neurons , 1970 .

[35]  S. Wiegand,et al.  Sexually dimorphic opioid distribution in the preoptic area: manipulation by gonadal steroids , 1986, Brain Research.

[36]  M. Lehman,et al.  Evidence for a ventral non-strial pathway from the amygdala to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the male golden hamster , 1983, Brain Research.

[37]  G. J. Vries,et al.  Vasopressin cells in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of the rat: sex differences and the influence of androgens , 1985, Brain Research.

[38]  E. Nordeen,et al.  Androgens prevent normally occurring cell death in a sexually dimorphic spinal nucleus. , 1985, Science.

[39]  Margaret E. Knapp,et al.  Projections of the nucleus and tracts of the stria terminalis following lesions at the level of the anterior commissure , 1976, Experimental Neurology.

[40]  D. Pfaff,et al.  Efferents from medial basal forebrain and hypothalamus in the rat. II. An autoradiographic study of the anterior hypothalamus , 2004, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[41]  T. Crow,et al.  Distribution of neuropeptides in the limbic system of the rat: The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, septum and preoptic area , 1983, Neuroscience.

[42]  T. Hökfelt,et al.  vasoactive intestinal polypeptide afferents to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the rat: An immunohistochemical and biochemical study , 1985, Neuroscience.

[43]  T. Gray,et al.  Neuropeptide neuronal efferents from the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and central amygdaloid nucleus to the dorsal vagal complex in the rat , 1987, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[44]  F. Davis,et al.  Sexually dimorphic regions in the medial preoptic area and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of the guinea pig brain: a description and an investigation of their relationship to gonadal steroids in adulthood , 1985, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[45]  C. Leonard,et al.  The olfactory connections of the lateral hypothalamus in the rat, mouse and hamster , 1971, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[46]  M. Palkovits,et al.  Met-enkephalin concentrations in individual brain nuclei of ansa lenticularis and stria terminalis transected rats , 1981, Brain Research.

[47]  D. Commins,et al.  Autoradiographic localization of estrogen and androgen receptors in the sexually dimorphic area and other regions of the gerbil brain , 1985, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[48]  E. Azmitia,et al.  An autoradiographic analysis of the differential ascending projections of the dorsal and median raphe nuclei in the rat , 1978, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[49]  M. Luskin,et al.  The topographic organization of associational fibers of the olfactory system in the rat, including centrifugal fibers to the olfactory bulb , 1983, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[50]  J. Johnston.  Further contributions to the study of the evolution of the forebrain , 1923 .

[51]  D F Swaab,et al.  A sexually dimorphic nucleus in the human brain. , 1985, Science.

[52]  W M COWAN,et al.  The connexions of the amygdala , 1965, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[53]  T. Powell,et al.  Certain observations on the olfactory pathway. , 1971, Journal of anatomy.

[54]  M. Sofroniew.  Direct reciprocal connections between the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and dorsomedial medulla oblongata: Evidence from immunohistochemical detection of tracer proteins , 1983, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[55]  R. Moore.  Catecholamine innervation of the basal forebrain. I. The septal area , 1978 .

[56]  R. Broadwell.  Olfactory relationships of the telencephlaon and diencephalon in the rabbit. 1. An autoradiographic study of the efferent connections of the main and accessory olfactory bulbs , 1975, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[57]  S. Mizukami,et al.  Sexual difference in nuclear volume and its ontogeny in the rat amygdala , 1983, Experimental Neurology.

[58]  P. Micevych,et al.  Distribution of cholecystokinin‐immunoreactive cell bodies in the male and female rat: II. Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and amygdala , 1988, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[59]  M. Abercrombie.  Estimation of nuclear population from microtome sections , 1946, The Anatomical record.

[60]  M. Johns.  The Role of the Vomeronasal System in Mammalian Reproductive Physiology , 1980 .

[61]  M. Sar,et al.  Distribution of androgen target cells in rat forebrain and pituitary after [3H]-dihydrotestosterone administration. , 1977, Journal of steroid biochemistry.

[62]  C. Malsbury,et al.  A sex difference in the pattern of substance P-like immunoreactivity in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis , 1987, Brain Research.

[63]  P. Sheridan,et al.  The nucleus interstitialis striae terminalis and the nucleus amygdaloideus medialis: prime targets for androgen in the rat forebrain. , 1979, Endocrinology.

[64]  C. Beltramino,et al.  Facilitatory and inhibitory effects of electrochemical stimulation of the amygdala on the release of luteinizing hormone , 1978, Brain Research.

[65]  S. D. Glick,et al.  Mast cells in rat thalamus: Nuclear localization, sex difference and left-right asymmetry , 1984, Brain Research.

[66]  J. D. Olmos,et al.  The Amygdaloid Projection Field in the Rat as Studied with the Cupric-Silver Method , 1972 .

[67]  L. Heimer,et al.  The afferent connections of the main and the accessory olfactory bulb formations in the rat: An experimental HRP‐study , 1978, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[68]  C. P. Leblond,et al.  Investigation of glial cells in semithin sections. I. Identification of glial cells in the brain of young rats , 1973, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[69]  L. Swanson,et al.  An autoradiographic study of the efferent connections of the preoptic region in the rat , 1976, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[70]  G. Raisman,et al.  Sexual dimorphism in the neuropil of the preoptic area of the rat and its dependence on neonatal androgen. , 1973, Brain research.

[71]  F. Leeuwen,et al.  Vasopressin-immunoreactive cell bodies in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of the rat , 2004, Cell and Tissue Research.

[72]  S. S. Winans,et al.  The differential projections of the olfactory bulb and accessory olfactory bulb in mammals , 1975, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[73]  L. Garcia-Segura,et al.  Sex differences and maturational changes in arcuate nucleus neuronal plasma membrane organization. , 1985, Brain research.

[74]  H. Stephan,et al.  Septum Development in Primates , 1976 .

[75]  L. Grant,et al.  (3H)‐Dihydrotestosterone in catecholamine neurons of rat brain stem: Combined localization by autoradiography and formaldehyde‐induced fluorescence , 1981 .

[76]  R. Gorski,et al.  Participation of estrogens in female sexual differentiation of the brain; neuroanatomical, neuroendocrine and behavioral evidence. , 1984, Progress in brain research.

[77]  C. Beltramino,et al.  Dual action of electrochemical stimulation of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis on the release of LH. , 1980, Neuroendocrinology.

[78]  L. Heimer,et al.  Synaptic distribution of centripetal and centrifugal nerve fibres in the olfactory system of the rat. An experimental anatomical study. , 1968, Journal of anatomy.

[79]  J. H. Gordon,et al.  Evidence for a morphological sex difference within the medial preoptic area of the rat brain , 1978, Brain Research.

[80]  J. Powers,et al.  Vomeronasal organ: critical role in mediating sexual behavior of the male hamster. , 1975, Science.

[81]  G. Aghajanian,et al.  Afferent projections to the rat locus coeruleus as determined by a retrograde tracing technique , 1978, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[82]  Barbara E. Jones,et al.  Ascending projections of the locus coeruleus in the rat. II. Autoradiographic study , 1977, Brain Research.

[83]  D. Pfaff,et al.  Efferents from medial basal forebrain and hypothalamus in the rat. I. An autoradiographic study of the medial preoptic area , 2004, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[84]  P. Södersten,et al.  Vasopressin alters female sexual behaviour by acting on the brain independently of alterations in blood pressure , 1983, Nature.

[85]  M. Warembourg.  Steroid receptors in the brain: Topography and some functional implications , 1985, Neurochemistry International.

[86]  L. Swanson,et al.  The organization of projections from the central nucleus of the amygdala to brainstem sites involved in central autonomic regulation: A combined retrograde transport-immunohistochemical study , 1984, Brain Research.

[87]  W. Cowan,et al.  The efferent connections of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus of the rat , , 1976, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[88]  O. Ottersen,et al.  Connections of the amygdala of the rat. IV: Corticoamygdaloid and intraamygdaloid connections as studied with axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase , 1982, The Journal of comparative neurology.