Androgens regulate the dendritic length of mammalian motoneurons in adulthood.

摘要: Sex steroid hormones have been thought to alter behaviors in adulthood by changing the activity of neural circuits rather than inducing major structural changes these pathways. In a group androgen-sensitive motoneurons that mediate male copulatory functions, decreases androgen levels after castration adult rats produced dramatic changes, decreasing both dendritic length and soma size motoneurons. These were reversed replacement. results imply surprising degree synaptic plasticity suggest normal are associated with significant alterations structure function neurons.