Origins of individual differences in male sexual function

在神经系统和老鼠的行为方面，有许多始终如一的性别差异。除了他们的内在兴趣，这些性别差异值得研究，因为它们提供了一个个体之间在神经结构和功能上一致差异的例子，使我们能够研究导致这种差异的因素。这些性别差异的一些荷尔蒙和发育原因已经被描述过。例如，众所周知，男性早期产生的睾丸素是导致神经结构和行为的许多性别差异的原因。尽管如此，同性个体在这些性别分化的神经系统结构和行为上有很大的差异，原因大多不为人知。目前的建议是研究环境刺激对大鼠勃起功能的影响，这种勃起功能受神经系统中显著的性别差异控制，在行为上代表着明显的性别差异。我们的初步研究表明，至少有两个环境因素影响成年人的勃起功能：一个人的新生儿生殖器默契刺激的历史和一个人成年后的应激反应。拟议的研究将调查这些观察到的影响的可能的荷尔蒙和神经学基础。这些研究有望让我们更深入地了解神经系统和行为的个体差异的本质和根源。

A number of consistent sex differences in the nervous system and behaviour of rats have been described. Beyond their intrinsic interest, these sex differences are worthy of study because they provide an example of a consistent difference between individuals in neural structure and function, allowing us to study the factors that contribute to such differences. Some of the hormonal and developmental causes of these sex differences have been described. For example, it is known that early production of testosterone by males accounts for many sex differences in neural structure and behaviour. Nonetheless, individuals of the same sex differ considerably from one another in these sexually differentiated nervous system structures and behaviours for largely unknown reasons. The present proposal investigates contributions of environmental stimuli on erectile function in rats, which is controlled by a striking sex difference in the nervous system and represents a clear sex difference in behaviour. Our preliminary studies indicate that that at least two environmental factors influence adult erectile function: an individual's history of neonatal tacile stimulation of the genitals and an individual's stress response in adulthood. The proposed studies will investigate possible hormonal and neurological bases for these observed effects. These studies are expected to give us greater insight into the nature and origins of individual differences in the nervous system and behaviour.