Elsevier

Early Human Development

Volume 82, Issue 12, December 2006, Pages 755-760
Early Human Development

Fetal testosterone and sex differences

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2006.09.014Get rights and content

Abstract

Experiments in animals leave no doubt that androgens, including testosterone, produced by the testes in fetal and/or neonatal life act on the brain to induce sex differences in neural structure and function. In this article, we argue that prenatal and neonatal testosterone exposure are strong candidates for having a causal role in sexual dimorphism in human behaviour, including social development.

Section snippets

Testosterone and the sexual differentiation of the brain

Endocrine (hormonal) systems are involved in every aspect of pregnancy, including implantation, formation of the placenta, maternal adaptation, embryonic and fetal development, parturition/birth, and fetal adaptation to life outside the womb. Hormones have a range of functions involving reproduction, growth and development, maintenance of the internal environment and the production, use and storage of energy. Experiments in animals show that gonadal hormones are essential to the sexual

Human sex differences

The psychological study of sex differences has traditionally focused on spatial, mathematical, and verbal ability [2]. However, there is increasing interest in potential sex differences in social relationships. Several studies have shown a female advantage in reading nonverbal signals. A meta-analytic study by Hall [14] showed that females are on average better than males at interpreting body language, vocal tone, and facial expression. In a more recent study [15], women were better at

Measuring fetal testosterone at amniocentesis

Both male and female fetuses produce some testosterone. In males the main source is the testes. Females are exposed to small amounts of testosterone from the fetal adrenal glands and from the maternal adrenals, ovaries and fat [10]. Testosterone can be measured in amniotic fluid collected during midtrimester amniocentesis. Testosterone is thought to enter the amniotic fluid via diffusion through the fetal skin in early pregnancy, and later from fetal urination. Although the exact correlation

The Cambridge Fetal Testosterone Project

This project is interested in the role of prenatal hormones in the development of autism. Although published prevalence rates for autism have increased significantly over the past decades, it is still a relatively rare condition. Autism spectrum conditions may occur as often as 1 in every 100 people [31]. Only a small proportion of pregnant women will be asked to undergo amniocentesis. To add to the difficulties, autism is seldom diagnosed before age 3, so there is a considerable lag between

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation for support during the period of this work. RK was also supported by a British Government Overseas Research Studentship (ORS) and the Cambridge Overseas Trust. SBC was also supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC) UK. We are grateful to Gerald Hackett, Kevin Taylor, Peter Raggatt, Svetlana Lutchmaya, Bonnie Auyeung, and Emma Chapman for their role in the Cambridge Fetal Testosterone Project.

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    The longitudinal studies of fetal testosterone and child development reviewed in this paper were carried out at the Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge. This work was supported by the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation. RCK was also supported by a British Government Overseas Research Studentship (ORS) and the Cambridge Overseas Trust. Portions of this work appeared in Knickmeyer and Baron-Cohen [42].

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