Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, United States; Center for Neural Development and Disease and Department of Biomedical Genetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, United States.
Center for Neural Development and Disease and Department of Biomedical Genetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, United States; Department of Biomedical Genetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, United States.
Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2014 Sep;33:3-9. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2014.06.007. Epub 2014 Jun 14.
Sex differences in behavior-both sex-specific and shared behaviors-are fundamental to nearly all animal species. One often overlooked mechanism by which these behavioral differences can be generated is through sex-specific modulation of shared circuitry (i.e., circuits present in both sexes). In vertebrates this modulation is likely regulated by hormone-dependent mechanisms as well as by somatic sex itself; invertebrate models have particular promise for understanding the latter of these. Here we review molecular and behavioral evidence of sexual modulation of shared circuitry in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Multiple behaviors in this species, both copulatory and not, are modulated by the genetic sex of shared neurons and circuit. These studies are close to uncovering the molecular mechanisms by which somatic sex modulates neural function in the worm, mechanisms which may be well conserved in more complex organisms. Improving our understanding of the modulation of neural circuit development and function by somatic sex may lend important insight into sex differences in the mammalian nervous system which, in turn, may have important implications for sex biases in disease.
行为中的性别差异——既有特定性别行为，也有共享行为——是几乎所有动物物种的基础。一种常常被忽视的产生这些行为差异的机制是通过共享电路的性别特异性调节（即，存在于两性中的电路）。在脊椎动物中，这种调节可能由激素依赖机制以及体性本身来调节；无脊椎动物模型在理解后者方面具有特殊的意义。在这里，我们回顾了线虫秀丽隐杆线虫中共享电路的性别特异性调节的分子和行为证据。该物种的多种行为，包括交配行为和非交配行为，都受到共享神经元和电路的遗传性别调节。这些研究接近于揭示体细胞性别调节蠕虫神经功能的分子机制，这些机制在更复杂的生物中可能很好地保守。提高我们对体细胞性别对神经回路发育和功能的调节的理解，可能会为哺乳动物神经系统中的性别差异提供重要的见解，而这反过来又可能对疾病中的性别偏见产生重要影响。
