Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA
Learn Mem. 2022 Sep 7;29(9):340-348. doi: 10.1101/lm.053499.121. Print 2022 Sep.
Sex differences occur in the structure and function of the rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus, which can change from the juvenile period through old age. Although the evidence is incomplete, it appears that in at least some portions of the cortex these differences develop due to the rise of ovarian hormones at puberty and are potentially not dependent on the perinatal rise in testosterone, which is essential for sexual differentiation of the hypothalamus and sexual behavior. During aging of female rats, the presence of continued ovarian hormone secretion after cessation of the estrous cycle also influences sex differences in neuroanatomical structure and cognitive behavior, resulting in nullification or reversal of sex differences seen in younger adults. Sex differences can be altered by experience in a stimulating environment during the juvenile/adolescent period, and sex differences in performance even can be affected by the parameters of a task. Thus, broad generalizations about differences such as "spatial ability" are to be avoided. It is clear that to understand how the brain produces behavior, sex and hormones have to be taken into account.
性别的差异存在于大鼠大脑皮层和海马体的结构和功能中，这种差异可以从幼年时期一直持续到老年时期。尽管证据并不完整，但似乎至少在大脑皮层的某些部分，这些差异是由于青春期卵巢激素的上升而产生的，而且可能不依赖于对下丘脑和性行为进行性分化所必需的围产期睾酮的上升。在雌性大鼠衰老过程中，在停止发情周期后仍持续存在卵巢激素分泌，这也会影响神经解剖结构和认知行为的性别差异，导致在年轻成年人中看到的性别差异消失或逆转。在幼年/青春期期间在刺激环境中获得的经验可以改变性别差异，甚至任务的参数也会影响表现的性别差异。因此，应该避免对“空间能力”等差异进行广泛的概括。显然，要了解大脑如何产生行为，就必须考虑到性别和激素。
