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Androstenedione Effects on the Vasopressin Innervation of the Rat Brain

Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, Neuroscience and Behavior Program and Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003-7720

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Geert J. De Vries, University of Massachusetts, Tobin Hall, Box 37720, Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, Department of Psychology, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003-7720.

The steroid hormone androstenedione profoundly influences the development and expression of sexual and aggressive behavior. The neural basis of these effects are, however, poorly understood. In this study we evaluated androstenedione’s ability to maintain vasopressin peptide levels in the gonadal steroid-responsive vasopressin cells of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the centromedial amygdala, and their projections. Adult male rats were castrated and given testosterone, androstenedione or no hormonal treatment for five weeks. Their brains were then processed for vasopressin immunoreactivity. Androstenedione and testosterone treatment were equally effective in preventing the reduction of vasopressin immunoreactivity associated with castration. Androstenedione may therefore be able to mimic the effects of testosterone on testosterone-responsive neural systems.

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