Neural and hormonal bases of sex differences in spatial abiity

类固醇激素（也称为性激素）、空间行为和神经结构（如海马体或额叶皮质）之间存在着复杂的关系。无论是老鼠还是人类，在空间行为任务上的表现，比如导航或记住东西的位置（物体位置记忆），都表现出性别差异，而且对类固醇激素很敏感。也就是说，在需要导航的任务中，雄性和雄性老鼠往往比雌性和雌性老鼠做得更好。对于对象位置内存，情况正好相反。也就是说，女性和雌性老鼠在物体定位记忆任务中表现更好。虽然这些类固醇激素明显影响大脑，但类固醇激素、大脑差异和行为之间的复杂关系在很大程度上仍未得到充分探索，尤其是在女性中。通过一系列的实验，这项研究将检验这三种因素是如何在人类和老鼠身上相互作用的。本研究准备通过一个研究项目，以一种新颖的方式来探讨这三个因素之间的复杂关系。它还将为认知、神经系统和内分泌系统之间的复杂关系提供急需的见解，这对于理解正常和病理条件下（例如特纳综合征）脑功能的基本方面至关重要。

There is a complex relation among steroid hormones (also known as sex hormones), spatial behaviour and neural structures, such as the hippocampus or frontal cortex. In both rats and humans, performance on tasks of spatial behavior, such as navigation or remembering where things are (object location memory), show differences between the sexes and are sensitive to steroid hormones. That is, men and male rats tend to do better than women and female rats on tasks requiring navigation. For object location memory, the opposite occurs. That is, women and female rats do better on tasks of object location memory. Although it is clear that these steroid hormones affect the brain, the complex relation between steroid hormones, brain differences and behavior remain largely underexplored, particularly in females. Using a series of experiments, this research will examine how these three factors interact in both humans and rats. This research is poised to investigate the complex relation among these three factors through a program of research in a novel way. It will also provide much needed insight into the complex relations among cognition, the nervous system and the endocrine system, which is critical for understanding fundamental aspects of brain function in normal and pathological conditions (e.g., Turner's syndrome).