Kat’s manuscript on sex differences in the neuroendocrine regulation of seasonal aggression was recently published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences! In this study, she and her co-authors show that male and female hamsters exhibit different neuroendocrine responses to treatment with short-day photoperiods or timed melatonin injections, despite both sexes showing increased aggression. Specifically, they found that SD and melatonin-treated males show an increase in the activity of 3β-HSD, an enzyme that mediates steroid production and metabolism, in the adrenal glands, whereas females show reductions in adrenal and neural 3β-HSD activity. These findings suggest a potential role for 3β-HSD in modulating seasonal aggression and highlight how distinct neuroendocrine mechanisms may underlie the same behavioral phenotypes in males and females.

A link for the manuscript can be found under the “Publications” page and can also be accessed here.