Lack of interaction between prenatal stress and prenatal letrozole to induce same-sex preference in male rats

Sello Duiker’s The Quiet Violence of Dreams offers an extensive treatment of homosexuality, a preoccupation which, until recently, is rare in black African fiction. On this account, as well as its depth and openness, the work has attracted some critical attention. It has been read from a masculinity perspective, as a coming-out novel, as a national allegory, as a work that challenges the notion of fixed sexuality, as a work that normalises same-sex sexuality, and so forth. Unlike these studies, this article examines the representation and disquisition around same-sex preference in the novel, with a view to demonstrating how some myths about homosexuality are exploded in the groundbreaking work, and showing that the narrative could also be apprehended as intellectual advocacy for the right to same-sex orientation.

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Prenatal stress induces intrauterine growth restriction and programmes glucose intolerance and feeding behaviour disturbances in the aged rat

Journal of Endocrinology ◽

10.1677/joe.0.1810291 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 181 (2) ◽

pp. 291-296 ◽

Cited By ~ 179

Author(s):

J Lesage ◽

F Del-Favero ◽

M Leonhardt ◽

H Louvart ◽

S Maccari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Glucose Intolerance ◽

Prenatal Stress ◽

Feeding Behaviour ◽

Maternal Stress ◽

Plasma Corticosterone ◽

Male Rats ◽

Male Rat ◽

Fasting Period ◽

Insulin Metabolism ◽

Foetal Growth

There is growing evidence that prenatal adversities could be implicated in foetal programming of adult chronic diseases. Since maternal stress is known to disturb the foetal glucocorticoid environment, we examined the consequences of prenatal stress on foetal growth, on glucose-insulin metabolism and on feeding behaviour in the aged male rat. In foetuses at term, maternal stress reduced body, adrenal and pancreas weight as well as plasma corticosterone and glucose levels. In aged male rats (24 months of age), prenatal stress induced hyperglycaemia and glucose intolerance and decreased basal leptin levels. Moreover, after a fasting period, they showed an increased food intake. These data suggest that maternal stress induces a long-lasting disturbance in feeding behaviour and dysfunctions related to type 2 diabetes mellitus. This programming could be linked to the early restricted foetal growth and to the adverse glucocorticoid environment in utero.

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Enhaced D2-type receptor activity facilitates the development of conditioned same-sex partner preference in male rats

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior ◽

10.1016/j.pbb.2012.04.007 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 102 (2) ◽

pp. 177-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Tamara Cibrian-Llanderal ◽

Viridiana Rosas-Aguilar ◽

Rodrigo Triana-Del Rio ◽

Cesar A. Perez ◽

Jorge Manzo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Receptor Activity ◽

Male Rats ◽

Partner Preference ◽

Same Sex ◽

Type Receptor ◽

Sex Partner

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Effects of Prenatal Stress on the Activity of an Enzyme Involved in Neurosteroid Synthesis During the “Critical Period” of Sexual Differentiation of the Brain in Male Rats

Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology ◽

10.1007/s11055-005-0148-4 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 35 (9) ◽

pp. 931-935 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

N. E. Ordyan ◽

S. G. Pivina

Keyword(s):

Sexual Differentiation ◽

Prenatal Stress ◽

Critical Period ◽

Male Rats ◽

The Brain

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Effects of Neonatal Testosterone and Progesterone on Open-Field Behaviour in the RAT

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1080/14640747808400664 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 157-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Robin Stevens ◽

Ralph Goldstein

Keyword(s):

Open Field ◽

Female Rats ◽

Male Rats ◽

Same Sex ◽

Adrenal Androgens ◽

Postnatal Treatment ◽

Oil Injection ◽

Increased Activity ◽

Field Behaviour ◽

Open Field Behaviour

Rats treated on the day of birth with progesterone (50 üg) or testosterone pro-pionate (200 üg) or the oil injection vehicle alone were tested in the open-field on four consectuve days at 45 days and 85 days of age. Averages across treatments showed that females ambulated more and reared more than males at both ages, that they groomed more than males at 45 days of age, and defaecated less at 85 days of age. Progesterone treatment significantly reduced defaecation in males at 45 days of age, and reduced grooming in both sexes. At 85 days of age progesterone significantly increased activity in females. Testosterone-treated animals of both sexes groomed significantly less than same-sex controls at 45 days of age, whereas at 85 days of age activity scores were significantly reduced only in females although testosterone treated males were less active on 2 test days and more active on 1. Early postnatal treatment with progesterone appeared to feminise male rats, and testosterone to masculinise female rats. Both hormones also altered the behaviour of opposite sexed rats, indicating that male rats may be further masculinised by exogenous testosterone and female rats further feminised by progesterone. Progesterone may have acted as an anti-androgenic agent by blocking gonadal and adrenal androgens in males and adrenal androgens in females.

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