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)之间存在复杂的关系。在大鼠和人类中，在空间行为任务中的表现，如导航或记住事物所在的位置(物体位置记忆)，显示出性别差异，并对类固醇激素敏感。也就是说，在需要导航的任务中，雄性和雄性大鼠往往比雌性和雌性大鼠做得更好。对于对象位置记忆来说，情况正好相反。也就是说，女性和雌性大鼠在物体位置记忆任务上做得更好。尽管这些类固醇荷尔蒙显然会影响大脑，但类固醇荷尔蒙、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研究，尤其是在女性中。通过一系列实验，这项研究将研究这三个因素在人类和大鼠中如何相互作用。本研究准备通过一种新颖的研究方案来探讨这三个因素之间的复杂关系。它还将提供对认知、神经系统和内分泌系统之间复杂关系的迫切需要的洞察，这对于理解正常和病理条件下(例如特纳综合征)大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).