BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT PRENATAL HORMONAL INFLUENCES

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中利用 资源由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。子项目和 调查员(PI)可能从NIH的另一个来源获得了主要资金， 并因此可以在其他清晰的条目中表示。列出的机构是 该中心不一定是调查人员的机构。 早期的荷尔蒙环境被认为在一生中影响着男性/女性的行为和神经内分泌差异的发展。这项研究将发育中的雄性和雌性恒河猴暴露在非典型的产前荷尔蒙环境中，并一直在调查它们的行为和神经内分泌发育。治疗的目的是模仿产前意外接触或抑制雄激素。 这项研究调查了孕期雄激素暴露、社会地位和体重是否是调节雌性恒河猴青春期发育的因素。受试者的母亲在妊娠第35/40-70天(早孕)或105/110-140天(晚孕)期间接受睾丸酮enanthate(每周20毫克)、氟他胺(一种雄激素受体阻滞剂，每天两次，30 mg/kg)或赋形剂的注射。我们调查了降低胎儿期内源性T是否会影响雄性恒河猴的成年交配行为。妊娠早期使用氟他胺治疗导致男性控制男性的男性生殖器明显减少，或者男性在怀孕后期服用氟他胺。在本年度，所有接受产前治疗的男性和女性以及同期的对照组都接受了磁共振成像扫描，以寻找大脑解剖学上的性别差异。 与国家老龄化控制研究所的研究人员合作，正在对男性和女性的MRI扫描进行结构性性别差异评估。然后，将接受产前治疗的动物与对照组男性和女性常见的变形大脑进行比较，以确定产前治疗在哪里改变了大脑结构。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The early hormone environment has been thought to influence the development of male/female behavioral and neuroendocrine differences through the life span. This study exposed developing male and female rhesus monkeys to atypical prenatal hormonal environments and has been investigating their behavioral and neuroendocrine development. Treatments were designed to mimic accidental exposure to or suppression of androgens prenatally. This study investigated whether prenatal androgen exposure, social rank, and body weight are factors regulating pubertal development in female rhesus monkeys. Subjects' mothers received injections of testosterone enanthate (20 mg/week), flutamide (an androgen receptor blocker, 30 mg/kg twice daily), or vehicle during gestational days 35/40-70 (early) or days 105/110-140 (late). We investigated whether reducing endogenous T prenatally affected adult copulatory behavior in male rhesus monkeys. Treatment with flutamide early in gestation resulted in males with significantly less masculinized genitals that control males or males getting flutamide late in gestation. During the current year all of the prenatally treated males and females along with concurrent controls were MRI scanned to look for sex differences in brain anatomy. In collaboration with investigators at the National Institute of Aging control MRI scans of males and females are being evaluated for structural sex differences. The prenatally treated animals are then being compared to the common morphed brains of control males and females to identify where prenatal treatments have modified brain structures.