PREPUBERTAL TESTOSTERONE TREATMENT OF NEONATALLY GONADECTOMIZED MALE-RATS - DEFEMINIZATION AND MASCULINIZATION OF BEHAVIORAL AND ENDOCRINE FUNCTION IN ADULTHOOD

Testosterone (T) administered well after the neonatal ''critical'' period to females at a dose approximating male levels permanently defeminizes reproductive function (see companion publication.) To obtain comparable data for the male, neonatally gonadectomized (NeoGx) males received T filled or empty Silastic capsules during days 15-30 of age and were studied in adulthood. Compared to controls, the T treatment resulted in reduced lordosis and preceptive behaviors, increased mounting and intromission behaviors without differences in penile reflexes or size, and reduced plasma FSH and LH surges. Twenty of twenty-three sham-NeoGx males, but only one NeoGx male, showed ejaculatory behavior despite equivalence in penile reflexes and size after detaching a frenulum when present on the penis. These results show that T can still act on neural substrates well beyond the neonatal period to defeminize and masculinize endocrine and behavioral function in the male rat. A comparison with effects in females indicates a sex difference, the male appearing to be more sensitive to these actions of T.