ArticleJournal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology2011
DHEA and estradiol levels in brain, gonads, adrenal glands, and plasma of developing male and female European starlings.
Article in Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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6 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Lipopolysaccharide differentially alters systemic and brain glucocorticoid levels in neonatal and adult mice.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Steroid Transport, Local Synthesis, and Signaling within the Brain: Roles in Neurogenesis, Neuroprotection, and Sexual Behaviors.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2018Review
- Non-ovarian aromatization is required to activate female sexual motivation in testosterone-treated ovariectomized quail.Hormones and behavior · 2016Article
- Steroids in the Avian Brain: Heterogeneity across Space and Time.Journal of ornithology · 2015Article
- Dynamic variation in forebrain estradiol levels during song learning.Developmental neurobiology · 2015Article
- Establishing regional specificity of neuroestrogen action.General and comparative endocrinology · 2014Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Traditionally, sexual differentiation of the brain was thought to be driven by gonadal hormones, particularly testosterone (T). However, recent studies in songbirds suggest that other steroids may also be important. For example, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) can be synthesized by the gonads, adrenal glands, and/or brain and locally metabolized into T and 17β-estradiol (E(2)). Here, we examined DHEA and E(2) levels in the brain, peripheral tissues, and plasma of wild European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). In Study 1, samples were collected from males and females at P0 (day of hatch), P6, and P8. In Study 2, samples were collected at P4. At P0, DHEA levels in the diencephalon were higher in males than females. DHEA levels were generally high in the gonads and adrenals, and they were higher in testes than ovaries at P8. Further, E(2) levels were non-detectable in most brain samples, suggesting that DHEA was not metabolized to E(2) or that locally produced E(2) was rapidly inactivated. At P4, DHEA levels in telencephalic regions were lower in males than females. Taken together, these data suggest that sex differences in peripheral DHEA secretion and neural DHEA metabolism at specific ages during development might play a role in sexual differentiation of the songbird brain.
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