Neural aromatization and the control of sexual behavior

Neural aromatization of androgens to estrogens is known to be a critical step in the development and adult expression of male sexual behavior in a variety of species. The medial preoptic area (mPOA) is an important site of aromatization necessary for the expression of copulatory behavior in males. The neuroendocrine regulation of female sexual behavior in the musk shrew, an evolutionarily ''primitive'' insectivore, shares several similarities with the regulation of male sexual behavior in many other species. We review the evidence that neural aromatization in the mPOA triggers female sexual behavior in the musk shrew, and speculate on the presence of a similar pathway in other mammalian species. (C) 1996, Elsevier Science Inc.