HORMONAL INFLUENCES ON NEURAL-BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT

提出了一个人与动物研究的综合方案。会的 检查神经和社会因素对雄激素的影响 雌激素对发育的影响，特别是大脑皮层和 认知力。人体研究将包括对两组暴露的研究 产前异常激素环境：1.先天性肾上腺疾病儿童 肾上腺分泌过多雄激素的增生症(CAH)； 患有特纳综合征(TS)的女性，卵巢不能产生 荷尔蒙。研究1将调查玩具中变化的假设 患有CAH的女孩的偏好反映了社会因素，如父母 观念和治疗，而不是激素，或除了激素 对发育中的大脑的影响。患有CAH的儿童将被录像 独自一人，和父母一起，玩着性别类型的中性玩具。 还将使用纸和铅笔测量性别。 认同和性别类型的父母认知，并获得广泛的 衡量行为的标准。研究2将检查TS患者的认知能力 一些测试，一些测量与男性相关的功能(例如， 视觉空间能力和语言偏侧化)，一些测量函数 与女性相关(例如，语言流畅性和知觉速度)和 有些与性别无关。这将区分三个假说 关于TS女性的认知发展：1.男性受损 神经系统；2.男性和女性系统受损；或3.一般情况 损害，与性别分化无关。女孩对玩具的偏好 将对TS进行研究，以确定游戏行为的变化是否平行 成人的认知功能。对大鼠的研究将探索机制 荷尔蒙对发育中的大脑皮层和 为解释临床研究提供信息。数据表明， 荷尔蒙对皮质发育的影响与已有的不同 其他地方。我们将使用标准的荷尔蒙去除技术和 政府将对此进行审查。我们还将研究 皮质雌激素受体描绘激素作用的可能部位 并检验大脑皮质发育过程中性别差异的假设 是由于受体分布的性别差异所致。这项研究将 提供有关荷尔蒙和社会因素如何单独和在 影响大脑皮层和认知发展的组合。会的 提供有关动物与人类发展的相关性的信息 模型并将增加对行为后果的理解 产前暴露于性激素。

An integrated program of human and animal research is proposed. It will examine neural and social factors underlying influences of androgens and estrogens on development, particularly of the cerebral cortex and cognition. Human research will include studies of two groups exposed prenatally to unusual hormone milieus: 1. children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) in which the adrenal gland overproduces androgen; and 2. females with Turner's Syndrome (TS) in which the ovary fails to produce hormones. Study 1 will investigate the hypothesis that changes in toy preferences of girls with CAH reflect social factors, such as parental perceptions and treatment, rather than or in addition to hormonal influences on the developing brain. Children with CAH will be videotaped alone, and with both parents, playing with sex-typed and neutral toys. Paper and pencil measures will also be used to measure gender identification and sex-typed parental perceptions, and to obtain broad measures of behavior. Study 2 will examine cognition in TS patients using several tests, some measuring functions associated with males (e.g., visuospatial ability and language lateralization), some measuring functions associated with females (e.g., verbal fluency and perceptual speed) and some unrelated to gender. These will distinguish among 3 hypotheses concerning cognitive development in TS females: 1. impaired masculine neural systems; 2. impaired masculine and feminine systems; or 3. general impairment, unrelated to sexual differentiation. Toy preferences of girls with TS will be studied to determine if changes in play behavior parallel adult cognitive function. Research on rats will investigate mechanisms underlying hormonal influences on the developing cerebral cortex and provide information for interpreting clinical studies. Data suggest that hormonal influences on cortical development differ from those established elsewhere. We will use standard techniques of hormone removal and administration to examine this. We will also examine the distribution of cortical estrogen receptors to delineate possible sites of hormone action and to test the hypothesis that sex difference in cortical development result from sex differences in receptor distribution. This research will provide information as to how hormonal and social factors act singly and in combination to influence cortical and cognitive development. It will provide information regarding the relevance to human development of animal models and will increase understanding of the behavioral consequences of prenatal exposure to sex-typed hormones.