Brain and muscle are sexually differentiated tissues in which masculinization is controlled by the secretion of androgens from the testes. Sensitivity to androgen is conferred by the expression of an intracellular protein, the androgen receptor. A central problem of sexual differentiation is thus to understand the cellular and molecular basis of androgen action. We do not understand how hormone occupancy of a receptor translates into an alteration in the developmental program of the target cell. Our studies on sexual differentiation of brain and muscle in Xenopus laevis are designed to explore the molecular basis of androgen induced sexual differentiation by examining how this hormone controls the masculinization of brain and muscle targets.Our approach to this problem has focused on a highly androgen sensitive, sexually dimorphic neuromuscular system: laryngeal muscles and motor neurons of the clawed frog, Xenopus laevis. We have been studying sex differences at a synapse, the laryngeal neuromuscular junction, which mediates sexually dimorphic vocal behavior in Xenopus laevis frogs.
