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Nurture: Effects of Intrauterine Position on Behaviour
Author(s) -
Kawata Mitsuhiro
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of neuroendocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1365-2826
pISSN - 0953-8194
DOI - 10.1111/jne.12026
Subject(s) - fetus , endocrinology , medicine , testosterone (patch) , hormone , nature versus nurture , affect (linguistics) , receptor , hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis , biology , pregnancy , psychology , communication , luteinizing hormone , genetics
Summary Fetuses positioned next to littermates of the opposite sex may develop different sexually related traits and aggressive behaviour in later life. These effects of intrauterine position are due to hormonal transfer between fetuses. Testosterone from a male fetus that crosses the fetal membrane of an adjacent female fetus can affect molecular events in the female including modification of the steroid hormone receptors in hypothalamic neurons. The intrauterine environment may also account for the variability of laboratory animals and newborn human twins.