QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (37) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hutton, L. A. Articles by Simerly, R. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hutton, L. A. Articles by Simerly, R. B.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

The Journal of Neuroscience, April 15, 1998, 18(8):3003-3013

Development of a Sexually Dimorphic Projection from the Bed Nuclei of the Stria Terminalis to the Anteroventral Periventricular Nucleus in the Rat

Leslie A. Hutton¹, Guibao Gu¹, and Richard B. Simerly^{1, 2}

¹ Division of Neuroscience, Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, Beaverton, Oregon 97006, and ² Program in Neuroscience, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon 97201

The principal nucleus of the bed nuclei of the stria terminalis (BSTp) is larger in male rats and conveys olfactory information relevant for reproduction to the hypothalamus. In males, the BSTp provides a massive projection to the anteroventral periventricular nucleus of the preoptic region (AVPV), which in contrast to most sexually dimorphic nuclei contains more neurons in female rats. Injections of the anterograde tracer Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin into the BSTp of adult female rats failed to demonstrate the strong projection to the AVPV observed previously in males. The ontogeny of this robust sex difference was examined by using the axonal marker DiI. The projection from the BSTp to the AVPV is established between postnatal day 9 (P9) and P10 in male rats and seems to be maintained during the juvenile period. Although labeled fibers extended from the BSTp toward the preoptic region in both male and female neonates, a similar connection with the AVPV was not apparent in female rats at any of the ages studied, and the density of labeled axons in the AVPV of P10 males was 20-fold greater than that of P10 females. A projection from the BSTp to the medial preoptic nucleus was also weaker in females but was much more substantial than that to the AVPV. These findings suggest that a sex- and region-specific activity influences the development of the projection from the BSTp to the AVPV, producing a sexually dimorphic architecture in pathways that convey olfactory information to the hypothalamus.

Key words: sexual differentiation; preoptic region; DiI; connections; dimorphic; development; bed nucleus of the stria terminalis

---

Copyright © 1998 Society for Neuroscience  0270-6474/98/1883003-11$05.00/0

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. A. Christian and S. M. Moenter Estradiol Induces Diurnal Shifts in GABA Transmission to Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neurons to Provide a Neural Signal for Ovulation J. Neurosci., February 21, 2007; 27(8): 1913 - 1921. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. R. Chakraborty, L. Ng, and A. C. Gore Age-Related Changes in Estrogen Receptor {beta} in Rat Hypothalamus: A Quantitative Analysis Endocrinology, September 1, 2003; 144(9): 4164 - 4171. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. A. Ibanez, G. Gu, and R. B. Simerly Target-Dependent Sexual Differentiation of a Limbic-Hypothalamic Neural Pathway J. Neurosci., August 1, 2001; 21(15): 5652 - 5659. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help