Table 2.
Sex-specific features in the brain of immature rodents.
| Feature | Species, brain region | Age | Sex-specific findings | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GABA signaling | ||||
| GABRA1 mRNA | Sprague-Dawley Rat SNR | PN15, PN30 | F>M | (Ravizza et al., 2003) |
| GABRA1 mRNA | Long Evans Rat SS cortex and SS thalamus | PN7, PN14, PN35, PN60 | F=M (PN7, PN14) F<M (PN35, PN60) |
(Li et al., 2007) |
| GABRA1 protein and zolpidem sensitivity of IPSCs | Sprague-Dawley Rat SNR | PN5, PN15, PN30 | F>M F=M |
(Chudomel et al., 2009) |
| GABRA3 protein | Sprague-Dawley Rat SNR | PN5, PN15, PN30 | F>M F=M |
(Chudomel et al., 2009) |
| GABAAR IPSCs - baseline IPSCs | Sprague-Dawley Rat SNR | PN5–9 PN28–32 |
F<M: frequency, amplitude,
charge/event F<M: amplitude F>M: decay and rise times |
(Chudomel et al., 2009) |
| GABRG2 mRNA | Long Evans Rat SS cortex | PN7, PN14, PN35, PN60 |
Somatosensory
Cortex: F=M (PN7, PN14) F<M (PN35, PN60) Somatosensory Thalamus: F=M (PN7, PN14, PN60) F<M (PN35) |
(Li et al., 2007) |
| GAD mRNA | Sprague-Dawley Rat, dorsomedial nucleus, arcuate nucleus, CA1 | PN1 PN15 |
F<M F=M |
(Davis et al., 1996) |
| GABA content | Sprague-Dawley Rat SNR | PN15, PN30 | F>M | (Ravizza et al., 2003) |
| GABA-ir cells | Sprague-Dawley Rat striatum | E16–22 | F>M | (Ovtscharoff et al., 1992) |
| GABA-ir cells or parvalbumin GABAergic neurons | Sprague-Dawley Rat SNR | PN15, PN30 | F>M | (Galanopoulou et al., 2001; Ravizza et al., 2003) |
| GABAAR switch to hyperpolarizing | Sprague-Dawley Rat SNR | PN4–26 | F: PN10 M: PN17 |
(Kyrozis et al., 2006) |
| GABAAR switch to hyperpolarizing | Sprague-Dawley Rat CA1 pyramidal neurons | PN4–18 | F: isoelectric or hyperpolarizing responses
from PN4 M: PN14 |
(Galanopoulou, 2008a) |
| Muscimol effects on Vm, in vitro | Sprague-Dawley Rat SNC | PN15 | F: no effect M: depolarization |
(Galanopoulou, 2006) |
| Muscimol effects on pCREB, in vivo | Rat hypothalamus, CA1 pyramidal neurons | Neonatal | F: decrease in pCREB-ir M: increase in pCREB-ir |
(Auger et al., 2001) |
| Muscimol effects on pCREB, n vivo | Rat SN | PN15 | F: no effect M: increase in pCREB-ir and KCC2 mRNA |
(Galanopoulou, 2006; Galanopoulou et al., 2003b) |
| GABRB1 | Sprague-Dawley Rat hypothalamus | PN1–38, adult |
GABRB1a F>M (PN1) F<M (PN38) GABRB1b: F=M GABRB2: F=M |
(Bianchi et al., 2005) |
| GABRB1 | Sprague-Dawley Rat anterior pituitary | PN4-PN38, adults |
GABRB1a F>M (PN4, 12) GABRB1b: F: very low M: barely detectable GABRB2: F, M: barely detectable |
(Bianchi et al., 2001) |
| Effects of intranigral muscimol infusions, in vivo | Sprague-Dawley Rat SNR | PN15-PN60 | Sex specific effects on flurothyl seizure threshold | (Veliskova and Moshe, 2001) |
| GABAergic neurons | Sprague-Dawley Rat striatum | E26, E18, E20, E21 | F>M | (Ovtscharoff et al., 1992) |
| Cation Cl− Cotransporters | ||||
| KCC2 protein | Sprague-Dawley Rat CA1 pyramidal hippocampal neurons | PN10 | F>M | (Galanopoulou, 2008a) |
| KCC2 protein | Wistar Rat hippocampus | PN1–15 | F>M (PN5–15) | (Murguia-Castillo et al., 2013) |
| KCC2 protein | Wistar Rat entorhinal cortex | PN1–15 | F>M (PN9–15) | (Murguia-Castillo et al., 2013) |
| KCC2 mRNA | Sprague-Dawley Rat hippocampus (CA1, CA3, DG) | PN5, PN8 | F=M | (Damborsky and Winzer-Serhan, 2012) |
| KCC2 mRNA | Sprague-Dawley Rat SNR | PN15, PN30 | F>M | (Galanopoulou et al., 2003b) |
| KCC2 protein | Sprague-Dawley Rat hypothalamus | E20, PN0, PN5 | F>M (PN5) | (Perrot-Sinal et al., 2007) |
| KCC2 mRNA | Sprague-Dawley Rat hypothalamus | E20, PN0, PN5 | F>M (PN0) | (Perrot-Sinal et al., 2007) |
| NKCC1 mRNA | Sprague-Dawley Rat hippocampus (CA1, CA3, DG) | PN5 PN8 |
F<M F=M |
(Damborsky and Winzer-Serhan, 2012) |
| NKCC1 protein | Wistar Rat hippocampus | PN1–15 | F<M (PN9) F>M (PN7, 13) |
(Murguia-Castillo et al., 2013) |
| NKCC1 protein | Wistar Rat entorhinal cortex | PN1–15 | F<M (PN5, PN9, PN11) | (Murguia-Castillo et al., 2013) |
| NKCC1 protein | Sprague-Dawley Rat hypothalamus | E20, PN0 | F<M | (Perrot-Sinal et al., 2007) |
| NKCC1 mRNA | Sprague-Dawley Rat hypothalamus | E20, PN0, PN5 | F<M (PN0) | (Perrot-Sinal et al., 2007) |
| Glutamatergic signaling | ||||
| NR1 protein | Long Evans Rat preoptic area | E16, PN1, PN3 | F<M | (Hsu et al., 2000) |
| NR2A mRNA | Sprague-Dawley Rat hippocampus (CA1, CA3, DG) | PN5 PN8 |
F<M F=M |
(Damborsky and Winzer-Serhan, 2012) |
| NR2B mRNA | Sprague-Dawley Rat hippocampus (CA1, CA3, DG) | PN5 PN8 |
F>M F=M |
(Damborsky and Winzer-Serhan, 2012) |
| GluR1 | C57BL/6 mice Hippocampus |
PN0, PN7, PN14, PN30, PN60 | F>M (PN0) F<M (PN7, PN14, PN30, PN60) |
(Bian et al., 2012) |
| Cholinergic system | ||||
| High affinity choline uptake | Wistar Rat hippocampus | PN7, PN14, 3 months | F: no lateralization M: left lateralization of Vmax [left > right) (PN14, 3 months)] |
(Kristofikova et al., 2004) |
| Nicotine effects on KCC2 and BDNF | Sprague-Dawley Rat hippocampus (CA1, CA3, DG) | PN5, PN8 |
Daily nicotine
po F: no effect M: increase in KCC2, BDNF mRNA |
(Damborsky and Winzer-Serhan, 2012) |
| Muscarinic receptors | Sprague-Dawley Rat cortex (cingulate, parietal), hippocampus | Adult | M1 receptor binding: M>F
(CA1) M3 mRNA: M>F |
(Potier et al. 2005) |
| Catecholaminergic system | ||||
| Tyrosine hydroxylase positive axons | Sprague-Dawley Rat striatum | E26, E18, E20, E21 | F>M | (Ovtscharoff et al., 1992) |
| Dopamine levels | BALB/cByJ mice, cerebral cortex, hypothalamus | PN3 | F<M | (Connell et al., 2004) |
| Dopamine, Serotonin (5-HT), Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, Homovanillic acid, 5-hydroxyindoloacetic acid (5-HIAA) | Rat Caudate |
PN0–30 | F=M | (Restani et al., 1990) |
| Dopamine | Rat | PN35 | F=M (midbrain, prefrontal cortex, striatum) | (Llorente et al., 2010) |
| 5HT | Rat | PN35 | F>M (striatum) F=M (midbrain, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum |
(Llorente et al., 2010) |
| Dopaminergic neurons | CBA/J mice Substantia nigra Ventral tegmental area |
E21 – PN90 | F=M | (Lieb et al., 1996) |
| Dopamine beta-hydroxylase | Rat Plasma |
PN5-adulthood | F>M | (Koudelova and Mourek, 1990) |
| Other | ||||
| BDNF mRNA | Sprague-Dawley Rat hippocampus (CA1, CA3, DG) | PN5, PN8 | F<M (PN5) | (Damborsky and Winzer-Serhan, 2012) |
| BDNF, NGF, NT-3, trkB mRNA | Rat Ventromedian nucleus of hypothalamus) |
E20, PN4 | F=M | (Sugiyama et al., 2003) |
| Anti-NGF treatment | Wistar Rat | PN0–12 qod anti-NGF treatment |
PN16 choline
acetyltransferase in cortex: F: no effect M: reduced |
(Ricceri et al., 1997) |
| Bcl-2 protein | Long Evans Rat preoptic area | PN8 | F<M | (Hsu et al., 2000) |
| IGF-1R positive cells | Wistar Rat hippocampus | PN0 PN7 PN14 |
F>M (CA1, CA3, DG) Right: F<M (DG) Left: F>M (CA1, CA3, DG) Right: F<M (CA1, DG) Left: F<M (CA1, CA3, DG) |
(Hami et al., 2013) |
| Morphology, neurogenesis | ||||
| Dendritic spine number | Rat ventromedial nucleus of hypothalamus | PN2 | F<M | (Todd et al., 2007) |
| NeuN positive cells | Hippocampus | PN7 | F<M (CA1, CA2/3, DG) | (Hilton et al., 2003) |
| Amygdalar, hippocampal growth | Humans | 0–25 years |
Age of amygdala
peak volume: F: L/R = 9.6/11.4 years; earlier subsequent growth deceleration in F M: L/R = 11.1/12.6 years Rightward laterality: F: L<R hippocampus M: L<R hippocampus and amygdala Hippocampal volume: F<M |
(Uematsu et al., 2012) |
| Dendritic tree | Long Evans hooded Rat dentate granule cells of hippocampus | PN25, adults |
Number of dendritic
segments: F>M (PN25 only) Length of individual dendritic segments: F=M (PN2, adults) |
(Juraska, 1990) |
| Neurogenesis in dentate gyrus | Sprague-Dawley Rat | 4 week old | F<M | (Perfilieva et al., 2001) |
Abbreviations: BDNF: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; DG: dentate gyrus; F: females; GABA: gamma-aminobutyric acid; GABRA1: GABAA receptor α1 subunit; GABRA3: GABAA receptor α3 subunit; GABRB1: GABAB receptor 1 subunit; GABRG2: GABAA receptor γ2 subunit; GAD: glutamic acid decarboxylase; GluR1: AMPA-type glutamate receptor 1; IGF-1R: insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor; IPSCs: inhibitory postsynaptic currents; -ir: -immunoreactivity; KCC2: potassium/chloride co-transporter 2; L: left; M: males; NGF: Nerve growth factor; NKCC1: sodium/potassium/chloride co-transporter 1; NR1: NMDA receptor subunit 1; NR2A: NMDA receptor subunit 2A; NR2B: NMDA receptor subunit 2B; pCREB: phosphorylation of cAMP responsive element binding protein at Ser133; R: right; SNC: substantia nigra pars compacta; SNR: substantia nigra pars reticulata; SS: somatosensory.