Effect of perinatal gonadal hormones on selected nonsexual behavior patterns: A critical assessment of the nonhuman and human literature.

Abstract

Perinatal androgens increase the display of adult aggressive behavior in rodents [mice, rats, hamsters]. No research on primates has investigated the effect of perinatal hormones on fighting per se, but high energy expenditure, a trait associated with masculinity in rhesus monkeys, was studied. Female monkeys treated with prenatal androgen exhibit patterns of energy expenditure similar to those of males. Human females exposed to prenatal androgen were reported by their parents and themselves to show tomboyish behavior (i.e., high levels of energy expenditure in play). The effect of perinatal androgen on maternal behavior in rodents was less clear because both male and female rodents showed all aspects of maternal behavior when presented with newborn animals. Human females exposed to prenatal androgen excess were reported by their parents and themselves to show low levels of maternalism. To explain why genetic females exposed to prenatal androgens were different from controls in regard to energy expenditure and maternalism, it was previously proposed that the behavior changes were a sequel to a masculinizing effect of androgen on the fetal brain. Alternative explanations related to postnatal factors are proposed. Perinatal androgen influences the performance of conditioning and learning tasks in rats. Prenatal androgen excess in humans does not confer a postnatal IQ advantage. Girls exposed to prenatal androgen do not differ in IQ from their parents and normal siblings.