Sample sizes: Intact BER N = 19, Intact BEP N = 9, P-OVX BER N = 12, P-OVX BEP N = 18. The first reference line in the figure denotes the onset of puberty, which had occurred by feeding test 3 for 61% of the rats, and by feeding test 4 for 100% of the rats. The higher chow value for the intact BEP group during feeding test 4 was checked for errors. A subsample of rats consumed a large amount of chow on that day for reasons that are unclear – thus, the recorded values were retained to provide a conservative estimate of chow intake on that day.