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Killanin AD, Taylor BK, Embury CM, Picci G, Wang YP, Calhoun VD, Stephen JM, Heinrichs-Graham E, Wilson TW. Testosterone levels mediate the dynamics of motor oscillatory coding and behavior in developing youth. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 61:101257. [PMID: 37236034 PMCID: PMC10232658 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent investigations have studied the development of motor-related oscillatory responses to delineate maturational changes from childhood to young adulthood. While these studies included youth during the pubertal transition period, none have probed the impact of testosterone levels on motor cortical dynamics and performance. We collected salivary testosterone samples and recorded magnetoencephalography during a complex motor sequencing task in 58 youth aged 9-15 years old. The relationships between testosterone, age, task behavior, and beta (15-23 Hz) oscillatory dynamics were examined using multiple mediation modeling. We found that testosterone mediated the effect of age on movement-related beta activity. We also found that the effect of age on movement duration was mediated by testosterone and reaction time. Interestingly, the relationships between testosterone and motor performance were not mediated by beta activity in the left primary motor cortex, which may indicate the importance of higher-order motor regions. Overall, our results suggest that testosterone has unique associations with neural and behavioral indices of complex motor performance, beyond those already characterized in the literature. These findings are the first to link developmental changes in testosterone levels to maturation of beta oscillatory dynamics serving complex motor planning and execution, and specific measures of motor performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abraham D Killanin
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Brittany K Taylor
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Christine M Embury
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Giorgia Picci
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Yu-Ping Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Elizabeth Heinrichs-Graham
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA.
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Tobiansky DJ, Fuxjager MJ. Sex Steroids as Regulators of Gestural Communication. Endocrinology 2020; 161:5822602. [PMID: 32307535 PMCID: PMC7316366 DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqaa064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Gestural communication is ubiquitous throughout the animal kingdom, occurring in species that range from humans to arthropods. Individuals produce gestural signals when their nervous system triggers the production of limb and body movement, which in turn functions to help mediate communication between or among individuals. Like many stereotyped motor patterns, the probability of a gestural display in a given social context can be modulated by sex steroid hormones. Here, we review how steroid hormones mediate the neural mechanisms that underly gestural communication in humans and nonhumans alike. This is a growing area of research, and thus we explore how sex steroids mediate brain areas involved in language production, social behavior, and motor performance. We also examine the way that sex steroids can regulate behavioral output by acting in the periphery via skeletal muscle. Altogether, we outline a new avenue of behavioral endocrinology research that aims to uncover the hormonal basis for one of the most common modes of communication among animals on Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Tobiansky
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
- Correspondence: Daniel J. Tobiansky, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912.
| | - Matthew J Fuxjager
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
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3
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Willing J, Wagner CK. Sensorimotor development in neonatal progesterone receptor knockout mice. Dev Neurobiol 2013; 74:16-24. [PMID: 23983142 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2012] [Revised: 08/01/2013] [Accepted: 08/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Early exposure to steroid hormones can permanently and dramatically alter neural development. This is best understood in the organizational effects of hormones during development of brain regions involved in reproductive behaviors or neuroendocrine function. However, recent evidence strongly suggests that steroid hormones play a vital role in shaping brain regions involved in cognitive behavior such as the cerebral cortex. The most abundantly expressed steroid hormone receptor in the developing rodent cortex is the progesterone receptor (PR). In the rat, PR is initially expressed in the developmentally-critical subplate at E18, and subsequently in laminas V and II/III through the first three postnatal weeks (Quadros et al. [2007] J Comp Neurol 504:42-56; Lopez & Wagner [2009]: J Comp Neurol 512:124-139), coinciding with significant periods of dendritic maturation, the arrival of afferents and synaptogenesis. In the present study, we investigated PR expression in the neonatal mouse somatosensory cortex. Additionally, to investigate the potential role of PR in developing cortex, we examined sensorimotor function in the first two postnatal weeks in PR knockout mice and their wildtype (WT) and heterozygous (HZ) counterparts. While the three genotypes were similar in most regards, PRKO and HZ mice lost the rooting reflex 2-3 days earlier than WT mice. These studies represent the first developmental behavioral assessment of PRKO mice and suggest PR expression may play an important role in the maturation of cortical connectivity and sensorimotor integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jari Willing
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany - SUNY, Albany, New York
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Bramen JE, Hranilovich JA, Dahl RE, Chen J, Rosso C, Forbes EE, Dinov ID, Worthman CM, Sowell ER. Sex matters during adolescence: testosterone-related cortical thickness maturation differs between boys and girls. PLoS One 2012; 7:e33850. [PMID: 22479458 PMCID: PMC3315517 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0033850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2011] [Accepted: 02/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Age-related changes in cortical thickness have been observed during adolescence, including thinning in frontal and parietal cortices, and thickening in the lateral temporal lobes. Studies have shown sex differences in hormone-related brain maturation when boys and girls are age-matched, however, because girls mature 1–2 years earlier than boys, these sex differences could be confounded by pubertal maturation. To address puberty effects directly, this study assessed sex differences in testosterone-related cortical maturation by studying 85 boys and girls in a narrow age range and matched on sexual maturity. We expected that testosterone-by-sex interactions on cortical thickness would be observed in brain regions known from the animal literature to be high in androgen receptors. We found sex differences in associations between circulating testosterone and thickness in left inferior parietal lobule, middle temporal gyrus, calcarine sulcus, and right lingual gyrus, all regions known to be high in androgen receptors. Visual areas increased with testosterone in boys, but decreased in girls. All other regions were more impacted by testosterone levels in girls than boys. The regional pattern of sex-by-testosterone interactions may have implications for understanding sex differences in behavior and adolescent-onset neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer E. Bramen
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Staglin Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of California Los Angeles Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Jennifer A. Hranilovich
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Ronald E. Dahl
- Institute of Human Development, University of California Berkeley Department of Public Health, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Jessie Chen
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Carly Rosso
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Erika E. Forbes
- Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Ivo D. Dinov
- Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, University of California Los Angeles Department of Neurology, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Carol M. Worthman
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth R. Sowell
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Collaer ML, Brook CGD, Conway GS, Hindmarsh PC, Hines M. Motor development in individuals with congenital adrenal hyperplasia: strength, targeting, and fine motor skill. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2009; 34:249-258. [PMID: 18938041 PMCID: PMC3287956 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2008] [Revised: 09/03/2008] [Accepted: 09/09/2008] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated early androgen influence on the development of human motor and visuomotor characteristics. Participants, ages 12-45 years, were individuals with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a disorder causing increased adrenal androgen production before birth (40 females, 29 males) and their unaffected relatives (29 females, 30 males). We investigated grip strength and visuomotor targeting tasks on which males generally outperform females, and fine motor pegboard tasks on which females generally outperform males. Physical characteristics (height and weight) were measured to explore whether body parameters could explain differences in motor skills. Females with CAH were stronger and showed better targeting than unaffected females and showed reduced fine visuomotor skill on one pegboard measure, with no difference on the other. Males with CAH were weaker than unaffected males in grip strength but did not differ on the targeting or pegboard measures. Correction for body size could not explain the findings for females, but suggests that the reduced strength of males with CAH may relate to their smaller stature. Further, the targeting advantage in females with CAH persisted following adjustment for their greater strength. Results in females support the hypothesis that androgen may masculinize, or promote, certain motor characteristics at which males excel, and contribute to defeminization of certain fine motor characteristics at which females excel. Thus, these data suggest that organizational effects of androgens on behavior during prenatal life may extend to motor characteristics and may contribute to general sex differences in motor-related behaviors; however, alternative explanations based on activational influences of androgen or altered experiential factors cannot be excluded without further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcia L Collaer
- Department of Psychology & Program in Neuroscience, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA.
| | | | - Gerard S Conway
- Department for Endocrinology, University College London Hospital, UK
| | - Peter C Hindmarsh
- Developmental Endocrinology Research Group, Institute of Child Health, University College London, UK
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Gorbet DJ, Sergio LE. Preliminary sex differences in human cortical BOLD fMRI activity during the preparation of increasingly complex visually guided movements. Eur J Neurosci 2007; 25:1228-39. [PMID: 17331218 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2007.05358.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In the past it has often been assumed that the cortical networks for visually guided movement are the same for males and females. Here we use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show significant sex-related differences in human brain activity during visual-to-motor transformation tasks. Although the behavioural performance of the male and female groups did not differ, sex-related differences in levels of blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI activity are apparent in several cortical areas that have previously been demonstrated to be important for visually guided movements. These areas include the primary sensorimotor, dorsal premotor, superior parietal and lateral sulcus regions. Furthermore, the data indicate that the nature of these sex differences depends on the spatial mapping between a visual cue and the motor response that it guides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana J Gorbet
- School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3
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DonCarlos LL, Sarkey S, Lorenz B, Azcoitia I, Garcia-Ovejero D, Huppenbauer C, Garcia-Segura LM. Novel cellular phenotypes and subcellular sites for androgen action in the forebrain. Neuroscience 2006; 138:801-7. [PMID: 16310968 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2005] [Revised: 06/07/2005] [Accepted: 06/10/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Historically, morphological studies of the distribution of androgen receptors in the brain led to conclusions that the major regional targets of androgen action are involved in reproduction, that the primary cellular targets are neurons, and that functional androgen receptors are exclusively nuclear, consistent with the classical view of steroid receptors as ligand-dependent transcription factors. In this review, we discuss three separate but interrelated recent studies highlighting observations made with newer methodologies while assessing the regional, cellular or subcellular distribution of androgen receptors containing cells in the forebrain. Regional studies demonstrated that the largest forebrain target for androgen action in terms of the number of androgen receptor expressing cells is the cerebral cortex, rather than the main hypothalamic and limbic centers for reproductive function. Cellular studies to determine the phenotype of androgen receptor expressing cells confirmed that most of these cells are neurons but also revealed that small subpopulations are astrocytes. The expression of androgen receptors in astrocytes is both region and age dependent. In contrast, reactive astrocytes in the lesioned adult rat brain do not express androgen receptors whereas reactive microglia do. Finally, androgen receptor immunoreactive axons were identified in the cerebral cortex of the rat and human. These observations do not overturn classical views of the cellular and subcellular locus of steroid action in the nervous system, but rather broaden our view of the potential direct impact of gonadal steroid hormones on cellular function and emphasize the regional and developmental specificity of these effects on the nervous system.
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Affiliation(s)
- L L DonCarlos
- Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA
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Creutz LM, Kritzer MF. Mesostriatal and mesolimbic projections of midbrain neurons immunoreactive for estrogen receptor beta or androgen receptors in rats. J Comp Neurol 2004; 476:348-62. [PMID: 15282710 DOI: 10.1002/cne.20229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The dopamine (DA) inputs to the caudate putamen, the nucleus accumbens, and the amygdala in rats are sensitive to circulating estrogens and androgens. One mechanism for the hormone modulation of these systems may be via actions at cognate intracellular estrogen and androgen receptors. However, although it is known that specific subsets of midbrain DA neurons are immunopositive for estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta) or androgen receptors (ARs), it is not known where these receptor-bearing cells project. To address this issue, we combined double-label immunocytochemistry with retrograde tract tracing to identify the forebrain projections of ERbeta- or AR-immunoreactive (IR) midbrain neurons. Specifically, Fluoro-Gold and/or cholera toxin were injected into discrete subregions of the caudate-putamen, the nucleus accumbens, or the amygdala. Evaluations of the resultant midbrain labeling revealed that ERbeta-IR neurons sent collateral projections mainly to both the ventral caudate-putamen and the amygdala, but not to the dorsal caudate or nucleus accumbens. In contrast, AR-IR neurons projected either to the amygdala or the nucleus accumbens but not to the caudate-putamen. The organization of these forebrain projections concurs with some of the known hormone sensitivities of mesostriatal and mesolimbic DA systems in rats and provides an anatomical model that predicts separate influences for androgens and estrogens over mesostriatal and mesolimbic DA systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lela M Creutz
- Graduate Program in Neurobiology and Behavior, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-5230, USA.
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Nuñez JL, Huppenbauer CB, McAbee MD, Juraska JM, DonCarlos LL. Androgen receptor expression in the developing male and female rat visual and prefrontal cortex. JOURNAL OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2003; 56:293-302. [PMID: 12884268 DOI: 10.1002/neu.10236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Gonadal steroid hormones are known to influence the development of the cerebral cortex of mammals. Steroid hormone action involves hormone binding to cytoplasmic or nuclear receptors, followed by DNA binding and gene transcription. The goals of the present study were twofold: to determine whether androgen receptors are present during development in two known androgen sensitive regions of the rat cerebral cortex, the primary visual cortex (Oc1) and the anterior cingulate/frontal cortex (Cg1/Fr2); and to determine whether androgen receptor (AR) expression in these regions differs between developing males and females. We used immunocytochemistry to detect AR protein on postnatal days 0, 4, and 10, and in situ hybridization to detect AR mRNA on postnatal day 10 in male and female rats. The level of AR expression was specific to the cortical region, with higher AR immunoreactive cell density and more AR mRNA in Oc1 than in Cg1/Fr2. AR immunoreactive cell density increased with age in both regions. Finally, on postnatal day 10, males had a higher AR immunoreactive cell density and more AR mRNA in Oc1 than did females. Thus, the presence of ARs may allow androgens to directly influence the development the cerebral cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Nuñez
- Neuroscience Program and Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA
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Ovtscharoff W, Bozhilova-Pastirova A, Christova T. Postnatal development of neurons expressing NADPH-diaphorase and parvalbumin in the parietal cortex of male and female rats. Acta Histochem 2002; 104:23-8. [PMID: 11993847 DOI: 10.1078/0065-1281-00634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Expression of the enzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPH-d) and the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin was studied in the parietal cortex of male and female rats during postnatal development at 20, 60 and 90 days of age. First, localization of the activity of NADPH-d was combined with the immunohistochemical localization of parvalbumin to facilitate recognition of morphological details and distribution patterns of these two types of cortical neurons. Double staining of neurons for parvalbumin and NADPH-d was never found. Second, it was found that NADPH-d is a simple and proper marker for quantitative studies. Morphometric analysis revealed sexual dimorphism in the density of NADPH-d-positive neurons in 20 days-old prepubertal rats. Females showed higher amounts of NADPH-d-positive neurons than males. No sex-dependent differences were detected in 60 days-old pubertal and 90 days-old postpubertal rats. The present results suggest that sex differences in the number of NADPH-d-positive neurons in the rat parietal cortex may be related to epigenetic effects of gonadal hormones in the early prepubertal period of postnatal development.
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Rabinowicz T, Petetot JMC, Gartside PS, Sheyn D, Sheyn T, de CM. Structure of the cerebral cortex in men and women. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2002; 61:46-57. [PMID: 11829343 DOI: 10.1093/jnen/61.1.46] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Expanding previous studies of human cerebral cortical sexual dimorphism showing higher neuronal densities in males, we investigated whether gender differences also exist in the extent of neuropil, size of neuronal somata, and volumes of astrocytes. This histo-morphometric study includes select autopsy brains of 6 males and 5 females, 12 to 24 yr old. In each brain, 86 defined loci were analyzed for cortical thickness, neuronal and astrocytic (8 loci) density (stereological counts), and neuronal and astrocytic (8 loci) soma size, enabling calculations of neuropil and astrocytic volumes. The female group showed significantly larger neuropil volumes than males, whereas neuronal soma size and astrocytic volumes did not differ. The expanded data confirmed higher neuronal densities in males than in females without a gender difference in cortical thickness. These findings indicate that fundamental gender differences exist in the structure of the human cerebral cortex, with more numerous, smaller neuronal units in men and fewer, larger ones in women; they may underlie gender-specific abilities and susceptibilities to disease affecting the neocortex. Laterality differences between the sexes were restricted to neuronal soma size showing significantly larger values in the female group in the left hemisphere. This gender difference may support female's right-handedness, language advantage, and tendency for bilateral activation patterns.
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