Swaab D F, Slob A K, Houtsmuller E J, Brand T, Zhou J N
Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Graduate School Neurosciences Amsterdam.
Brain Res Dev Brain Res. 1995 Apr 18;85(2):273-9. doi: 10.1016/0165-3806(94)00218-o.
In an earlier article an enlarged subpopulation of vasopressin containing neurons was found in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of homosexual men as compared to heterosexuals. The present study investigates the possibility that the number of vasopressin neurons in the SCN and sexual partner preference behavior in male rats are both influenced by sex hormones during brain development. For this purpose, we studied groups of adult male rats that had been treated either prenatally or pre- and postnatally with the aromatase inhibitor ATD (1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione) which blocks the aromatization of testosterone to estradiol. Rats treated with ATD in both pre- and postnatal periods showed 'bisexual' partner preference behavior and appeared to have 59% more vasopressin-expressing neurons in the SCN than the controls. The prenatally treated rats did not differ from the controls. This observation supports the hypothesis that the increased number of vasopressin neurons found earlier in the SCN of adult homosexual men might reflect differences that took place in the interaction between sex hormones and the brain early in development.
在一篇早期文章中发现，与异性恋男性相比，同性恋男性视交叉上核（SCN）中含血管加压素的神经元亚群有所扩大。本研究探讨了SCN中血管加压素神经元数量和雄性大鼠性伴侣偏好行为在大脑发育过程中均受性激素影响的可能性。为此，我们研究了成年雄性大鼠组，这些大鼠在出生前或出生前及出生后用芳香化酶抑制剂ATD（1,4,6 - 雄甾三烯 - 3,17 - 二酮）进行处理，该抑制剂可阻断睾酮向雌二醇的芳香化。在出生前和出生后均用ATD处理的大鼠表现出“双性恋”伴侣偏好行为，且其SCN中表达血管加压素的神经元似乎比对照组多59%。出生前处理的大鼠与对照组没有差异。这一观察结果支持了这样的假设，即早期在成年同性恋男性SCN中发现的血管加压素神经元数量增加可能反映了发育早期性激素与大脑之间相互作用中发生的差异。
