Peripubertal gonadal steroids are necessary for steroid-independent male sexual behavior in castrated B6D2F1 male mice

Gonadal steroids play an integral role in male sexual behavior, and in most rodent models, this relationship is tightly coupled. However, many other species, including humans, continue to demonstrate male sex behavior in the absence of gonadal steroids, and the mechanisms that regulate steroid-independent male sex behavior are not well understood. Approximately 30% of castrated male B6D2F1 hybrid mice display male sex behavior many months after castration, allowing for the investigation of individual variation in steroidal regulation of male sex behavior. During both the perinatal and peripubertal periods of development, the organizational effects of gonadal steroids on sexual differentiation of the neural circuits controlling male sex behavior are well-documented. Several factors can alter the normal range of gonadal steroids or their receptors which may lead to the disruption of the normal processes of masculinization and defeminization. It is unknown whether the organizational effects of gonadal hormones during puberty are necessary for steroid-independent male sex behavior. However, gonadal steroids during puberty were not necessary for either testosterone or estradiol to activate male sex behavior in adulthood. Furthermore, activation of male sex behavior was initiated sooner in hybrid male mice castrated prior to puberty that were administered estradiol in adulthood compared to those that were provided testosterone. The underlying mechanisms by which gonadal hormones, during both the perinatal and peripubertal developmental periods of sexual differentiation, organize the normal maturation of neural circuitry that regulates steroid-independent male sex behavior in adult castrated B6D2F1 male mice warrants further investigation.