Abstract
Summary
After injection of a physiologic dose of 3H-estradiol into female and male rats, radioactive labeling was found in certain neurons of the amygdala, while not in others. Labeled neurons were concentrated in the nucleus medialis; nucleus centralis; nucleus lateralis, pars anterior; nucleus basalis, pars medialis; and nucleus corticalis. In the ventroanterior portion of the hippocampus, close to the lateral ventricle, weakly labeled neurons were found. The stria terminalis, the ventral amygdalofugal pathway, and the medial corticohypothalamic tract are considered interlinking pathways for estrogen-neuron systems in the amygdala and diencephalon. Estrogen-neuron systems seem to constitute a major component of what has been regarded the “sex center” or “sex centers” in the brain.
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