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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Psychology

University of Massachusetts Amherst

2002

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

A Model System For Study Of Sex Chromosome Effects On Sexually Dimorphic Neural And Behavioral Traits, Geert De Vries, E. F. Rissman, R. B. Simerly, Y. L. Yang, E. M. Scordalakes, C. J. Auger, A. Swain, R. Lovell-Badge, P. S. Burgoyne, A. P. Arnold Oct 2002

A Model System For Study Of Sex Chromosome Effects On Sexually Dimorphic Neural And Behavioral Traits, Geert De Vries, E. F. Rissman, R. B. Simerly, Y. L. Yang, E. M. Scordalakes, C. J. Auger, A. Swain, R. Lovell-Badge, P. S. Burgoyne, A. P. Arnold

Geert De Vries

We tested the hypothesis that genes encoded on the sex chromosomes play a direct role in sexual differentiation of brain and behavior. We used mice in which the testis-determining gene (Sry) was moved from the Y chromosome to an autosome (by deletion ofSry from the Y and subsequent insertion of anSry transgene onto an autosome), so that the determination of testis development occurred independently of the complement of X or Y chromosomes. We compared XX and XY mice with ovaries (females) and XX and XY mice with testes (males). These comparisons allowed us to assess the effect of sex chromosome …


Sexual Differentiation Of The Bed Nucleus Of The Stria Terminalis In Humans May Extend Into Adulthood, Geert De Vries, W. C.J Chung, D. F. Swaab Jan 2002

Sexual Differentiation Of The Bed Nucleus Of The Stria Terminalis In Humans May Extend Into Adulthood, Geert De Vries, W. C.J Chung, D. F. Swaab

Geert De Vries

Gonadal steroids have remarkable developmental effects on sex-dependent brain organization and behavior in animals. Presumably, fetal or neonatal gonadal steroids are also responsible for sexual differentiation of the human brain. A limbic structure of special interest in this regard is the sexually dimorphic central subdivision of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc), because its size has been related to the gender identity disorder transsexuality. To determine at what age the BSTc becomes sexually dimorphic, the BSTc volume in males and females was studied from midgestation into adulthood. Using vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and somatostatin immunocytochemical staining as markers, we …