A comparison of aromatase, 5α-, and 5β- reductase activities in the brain and pituitary of male and female quail(C. c. japonica)

1987 ◽  
Vol 242 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barney A. Schlinger ◽  
Gloria V. Callard
Keyword(s):  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Quail ◽  
The Brain

5β-Reductase activity in the brain and cloacal gland of male and female embryos in the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

1984 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Balthazart ◽  
M. A. Ottinger
Keyword(s):  
Reductase Activity ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Testosterone Metabolism ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Coturnix Coturnix ◽  
Female Quail ◽  
In Vitro Technique ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Cloacal Gland

ABSTRACT Testosterone metabolism was studied by an in-vitro technique in the brain and cloacal gland of young male and female quail at different ages ranging from 7 days of incubation to 2 days after hatching. Very active metabolism, leading almost exclusively to the production of 5β-reduced compounds, was observed. 5β-Reductase activity remained high throughout the incubation period in the hypothalamus, decreased around the time of hatching in the cerebellum and decreased progressively between days 7 and 15 of incubation in the cloacal gland. These changes could be involved in the control of sexual differentiation: the high 5β-reductase in the brain possibly protects males from being behaviourally demasculinized by their endogenous testosterone while the decreasing 5β-reductase in the cloacal gland would progressively permit the masculinization of that structure. J. Endocr. (1984) 102, 77–81

scholarly journals Acute Stress Differentially Affects Aromatase Activity in Specific Brain Nuclei of Adult Male and Female Quail

Endocrinology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 152 (11) ◽  
pp. 4242-4251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly J. Dickens ◽  
Charlotte A. Cornil ◽  
Jacques Balthazart
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Behavior ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Aromatase Activity ◽  
Brain Nuclei ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Estrogen Production ◽  
Female Quail ◽  
Male Reproductive Behavior ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Brain

The rapid and temporary suppression of reproductive behavior is often assumed to be an important feature of the adaptive acute stress response. However, how this suppression operates at the mechanistic level is poorly understood. The enzyme aromatase converts testosterone to estradiol in the brain to activate reproductive behavior in male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). The discovery of rapid and reversible modification of aromatase activity (AA) provides a potential mechanism for fast, stress-induced changes in behavior. We investigated the effects of acute stress on AA in both sexes by measuring enzyme activity in all aromatase-expressing brain nuclei before, during, and after 30 min of acute restraint stress. We show here that acute stress rapidly alters AA in the male and female brain and that these changes are specific to the brain nuclei and sex of the individual. Specifically, acute stress rapidly (5 min) increased AA in the male medial preoptic nucleus, a region controlling male reproductive behavior; in females, a similar increase was also observed, but it appeared delayed (15 min) and had smaller amplitude. In the ventromedial and tuberal hypothalamus, regions associated with female reproductive behavior, stress induced a quick and sustained decrease in AA in females, but in males, only a slight increase (ventromedial) or no change (tuberal) in AA was observed. Effects of acute stress on brain estrogen production, therefore, represent one potential way through which stress affects reproduction.

scholarly journals Programming of the reproductive axis by hormonal and genetic manipulation in mice

Reproduction ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana B Rulli ◽  
María Julia Cambiasso ◽  
Laura D Ratner
Keyword(s):  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Sex Differentiation ◽  
Reproductive Function ◽  
Gonadal Steroids ◽  
Critical Periods ◽  
Female Reproduction ◽  
Control Male ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
The Brain

In mammals, the reproductive function is controlled by the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. During development, mechanisms mediated by gonadal steroids exert an imprinting at the hypothalamic-pituitary level, by establishing sexual differences in the circuits that control male and female reproduction. In rodents, the testicular production of androgens increases drastically during the fetal/neonatal stage. This process is essential for the masculinization of the reproductive tract, genitals and brain. The conversion of androgens to estrogens in the brain is crucial for the male sexual differentiation and behavior. Conversely, feminization of the brain occurs in the absence of high levels of gonadal steroids during the perinatal period in females. Potential genetic contribution to the differentiation of brain cells through direct effects of genes located on sex chromosomes is also relevant. In this review, we will focus on the phenotypic alterations that occur on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis of transgenic mice with persistently elevated expression of the human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG). Excess of endogenously synthesized gonadal steroids due to a constant hCG stimulation is able to disrupt the developmental programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in both transgenic males and females. Locally produced estrogens by the hypothalamic aromatase might play a key role in the phenotype of these mice. The “four core genotypes” mouse model demonstrated a potential influence of sex chromosome genes in brain masculinization before critical periods of sex differentiation. Thus, hormonal and genetic factors interact to regulate the local production of the neurosteroids necessary for the programming of the male and female reproductive function.

Differential effects of testosterone on protein synthesis activity in male and female quail brain

Neuroscience ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 647-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.R Dermon ◽  
A Stamatakis ◽  
S Giakoumaki ◽  
J Balthazart
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Female Quail ◽  
Synthesis Activity

Central distribution of kiss2 neurons and peri-pubertal changes in their expression in the brain of male and female red seabream Pagrus major

2012 ◽  
Vol 175 (3) ◽  
pp. 432-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuki Shimizu ◽  
Junko Tomikawa ◽  
Keisuke Hirano ◽  
Yoko Nanikawa ◽  
Yasuhisa Akazome ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pagrus Major ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Red Seabream ◽  
The Brain

Relative potencies of testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone on crowing and cloacal gland growth in the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

1984 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Balthazart ◽  
M. Schumacher ◽  
G. Malacarne
Keyword(s):  
Coturnix Japonica ◽  
Coturnix Coturnix Japonica ◽  
Coturnix Coturnix ◽  
Behavioural Activity ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Female Quail ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Relative Potencies ◽  
Cloacal Gland ◽  
Age Related Changes

ABSTRACT It has been suggested that testosterone is less effective at inducing crowing behaviour in young birds than in adults because of the presence of higher levels of steroid 5β-reductase in the young brain, which converts testosterone to inactive 5β-reduced metabolites. This hypothesis was tested indirectly by comparing the relative potencies of 5α-dihydrotestosterone (5α-DHT), which cannot be converted to 5β-metabolities, and testosterone at inducing crowing in young gonadectomized male and female quail. The promotion of cloacal gland growth by these treatments was also assessed since there are no age-related changes in 5β-reductase in this organ. Silicone elastomer implants (2·5, 5 and 10 mm) containing 5α-DHT were more effective at stimulating crowing than similar implants of testosterone whilst there was little difference in their potency at inducing cloacal gland growth. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that brain steroid 5β-reductase regulates the behavioural activity of testosterone in the brain of young birds. J. Endocr. (1984) 100, 19–23

scholarly journals Involvement of NMDA receptors containing the GluN2C subunit in the psychotomimetic and antidepressant-like effects of ketamine

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mireia Tarrés-Gatius ◽  
Lluís Miquel-Rio ◽  
Leticia Campa ◽  
Francesc Artigas ◽  
Anna Castañé
Keyword(s):  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Thalamic Nuclei ◽  
Treatment Resistant ◽  
Cortical Networks ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
Antidepressant Effects ◽  
The Brain

AbstractAcute ketamine administration evokes rapid and sustained antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant patients. However, ketamine also produces transient perceptual disturbances similarly to those evoked by other non-competitive NMDA-R antagonists like phencyclidine (PCP). Although the brain networks involved in both ketamine actions are not fully understood, PCP and ketamine activate thalamo-cortical networks after NMDA-R blockade in GABAergic neurons of the reticular thalamic nucleus (RtN). Given the involvement of thalamo-cortical networks in processing sensory information, these networks may underlie psychotomimetic action. Since the GluN2C subunit is densely expressed in the thalamus, including the RtN, we examined the dependence of psychotomimetic and antidepressant-like actions of ketamine on the presence of GluN2C subunits, using wild-type and GluN2C knockout (GluN2CKO) mice. Likewise, since few studies have investigated ketamine’s effects in females, we used mice of both sexes. GluN2C deletion dramatically reduced stereotyped (circling) behavior induced by ketamine in male and female mice, while the antidepressant-like effect was fully preserved in both genotypes and sexes. Despite ketamine appeared to induce similar effects in both sexes, some neurobiological differences were observed between male and female mice regarding c-fos expression in thalamic nuclei and cerebellum, and glutamate surge in prefrontal cortex. In conclusion, the GluN2C subunit may discriminate between antidepressant-like and psychotomimetic actions of ketamine. Further, the abundant presence of GluN2C subunits in the cerebellum and the improved motor coordination of GluN2CKO mice after ketamine treatment suggest the involvement of cerebellar NMDA-Rs in some behavioral actions of ketamine.

scholarly journals Age and Sex Related Changes in Weight of the Whole brain: a Postmortem Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-400
Author(s):  
Kanij Fatema ◽  
Shamim Ara ◽  
Mushfika Rahman ◽  
Halima Afroz
Keyword(s):  
Medical Science ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Group A ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Group D ◽  
The Brain

Objective: Brain weight varies with age and gender. It decreases with age and also in many diseases. This cross-sectional analytical type of study was carried out to establish normal standard in different age groups in weight of the brain and to see the difference between sexes of adult Bangladeshi people. Materials and Methods: A total of 70 postmortem human brains of adult age groups ranging from 22-58 years in male and 22-48 years in female were collected from the unclaimed dead bodies during postmortem at the autopsy laboratory in the Department of Forensic Medicine, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka, from January 2010 to December 2010. The samples were divided into four different age groups i.e. Group A (20-29 years), Group B (30-39 years), Group C (40-49 years) and Group D (50-59 years). The weight of the whole brain was measured and significant differences in weight of the whole brain between different age groups and between male and female were determined.Results: In male highest value of weight was 1326.67±41.53 gm in group A and lowest one was 1281.6±40.21 gm in group D. These values of female were 1235.56±48.51 gm in group A and 1197.14±38.61 gm in group C. Significant differences were found in mean weight of the whole brain in male and female in group A (p=0.001), B (p=0.001) and C (p=0.001). The difference of mean weight in different age groups was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The weight of the brain is higher in male than in female and it decreases with age. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjms.v13i4.20554 Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.13(4) 2014 p.396-400

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