Genesis and Migration of Sexually Dimorphic Vocal Neurons

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The overall goal of this research is to understand the mechanisms by which gonadal steroid hormones influence the development and adult function of neurons that participate in behavior. The effects of steroids on behavior are believed to be exerted by action on the central nervous system. There are marked differences in the central nervous system of males and females. Among the most striking of these are examples of differences in the number of motor neurons that innervate effector muscles for behavioral expression. These differences correlate with behavioral differences, but it is not clear how sexually dimorphic morphology contributes to sexually dimorphic function. Of considerable interest are the developmental processes that give rise to morphological differences. We do not yet know how sex differences arise in the neuroeffector systems that produce sexually differentiated behavior. This research contains experimental approaches to determine when and how sex differences in the motor neurons that produce sexually dimorphic behavior develop in the clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.