Differentiation of the sexually dimorphic nucleus in the preoptic area of the rat brain is determined by the perinatal hormone environment.

The volume of a sexually dimorphic nucleus in the preoptic area (SDN-POA) of the rat brain is several fold larger in males than in females. When female rats were treated pre- and postnatally with testosterone propionate (TP) their SDN-POA developed equivalent in size to that of normal males. The results indicate that the gross morphological sex difference in SDN-POA volume is exclusively controlled by the hormonal environment during the critical period of sexual brain differentiation.