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Science 18 April 1986:
Vol. 232. no. 4748, pp. 395 - 398
DOI: 10.1126/science.3961488
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Articles

Science, Vol 232, Issue 4748, 395-398
Copyright © 1986 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Androgens regulate the dendritic length of mammalian motoneurons in adulthood

EM Kurz, DR Sengelaub, and AP Arnold

Sex steroid hormones have been thought to alter behaviors in adulthood by changing the activity of neural circuits rather than by inducing major structural changes in these pathways. In a group of androgen-sensitive motoneurons that mediate male copulatory functions, decreases in androgen levels after castration of adult rats produced dramatic structural changes, decreasing both the dendritic length and soma size of these motoneurons. These changes were reversed by androgen replacement. These results imply a surprising degree of synaptic plasticity in adult motoneurons and suggest that normal changes in androgen levels in adulthood are associated with significant alterations in the structure and function of these neurons.


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