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Psychology Commons

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University of Massachusetts Amherst

Selected Works

2004

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Deletion Of Bax Eliminates Sex Differences In The Mouse Forebrain, Geert De Vries, N. G. Forger, G. J. Rosen, E. M. Waters, D. Jacobs, R. B. Simerly Sep 2004

Deletion Of Bax Eliminates Sex Differences In The Mouse Forebrain, Geert De Vries, N. G. Forger, G. J. Rosen, E. M. Waters, D. Jacobs, R. B. Simerly

Geert De Vries

Several of the best-studied sex differences in the mammalian brain are ascribed to the hormonal control of cell death. This conclusion is based primarily on correlations between pyknotic cell counts in development and counts of mature neurons in adulthood; the molecular mechanisms of hormone-regulated, sexually dimorphic cell death are unknown. We asked whether Bax, a member of the Bcl-2 family of proteins that is required for cell death in many developing neurons, might be essential for sex differences in neuron number. We compared Bax knockout mice and their WT siblings, focusing on two regions of the mouse forebrain that show …


Rapid, Hierarchical Modulation Of Vocal Patterning By Steroid Hormones, Luke Remage_Healey, Andrew H. Bass Jun 2004

Rapid, Hierarchical Modulation Of Vocal Patterning By Steroid Hormones, Luke Remage_Healey, Andrew H. Bass

Luke Remage-Healey

Vocal control systems have been identified in all major groups of jawed vertebrates. Although steroid hormones are instrumental in the long-term development and maintenance of neural structures underlying vocalization, it is unknown whether steroids rapidly modulate the neural activity of vocal motor systems. The midshipman fish generates advertisement and agonistic calls that mainly differ in duration. A descending midbrain pathway activates a hindbrain-spinal vocal circuit that directly establishes the discharge frequency and duration of the rhythmic vocal motor volley. This vocal motor output, which can be monitored from occipital nerve roots, directly determines the rate and duration of contraction of …


Sex Differences In Adult And Developing Brains; Compensation, Compensation, Compensation, Geert De Vries Mar 2004

Sex Differences In Adult And Developing Brains; Compensation, Compensation, Compensation, Geert De Vries

Geert De Vries

Despite decades of research, we do not know the functional significance of most sex differences in the brain. We are heavily invested in the idea that sex differences in brain structure cause sex differences in behavior. We rarely consider the possibility that sex differences in brain structure may also prevent sex differences in overt functions and behavior, by compensating for sex differences in physiological conditions, e.g. gonadal hormone levels that may generate undesirable sex differences if left unchecked. Such a dual function for sex differences is unlikely to be restricted to adult brains. This review will entertain the possibility that …