Open Peer Commentary Fitch & Denenberg: Sexual differentiation of the brain
Sexual differentiation of callosal size: Hormonal mechanisms and the choice of an animal model
M. J. Baum a1a3andS. A. Tobet a2a3 a1 Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215
baum@bio.bu.edu a2 Department of Biomedical Sciences, The Shriver Center, Waltham, MA 02254
stobet@shriver.org a3 Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
Abstract
Studies of callosal sexual differentiation have concentrated
on global measures of callosal size, using the rat as a model for
studies of potential hormonal mechanisms. It is time to shift the
study of callosal sexual differentiation to a more cellular level.
Finally, there are potential problems with using the female rat as the
primary model for understanding hormonal mechanisms during postnatal
life.
