[Relationship between the limbic system and gonadal function. 2. Quantifiable prepuberal differentiation of medial...

In juvenile female rats beteen the 21st and 26th days of age, the neurons of the medial and cortical amygdaloid nuclei undergo a highly significant karyovolumetrically measurable activation which, however, partially declines almost immediately. Such prepuberal variation of activity was found to be correlated with age-dependent effects of direct interventions with these nuclear regions upon the hypothalamy-pituitary-gonadal axis, e.g. implantation of oestradiol benzoate, stimulation or lesioning. This basically, is a quantitatibe-morphological confirmation of an assumption that had been derived earlier from experimental studies, according to which the mediocortical part of the amygdala undergoes in the prepuberal period a functional muteration or differentiation which is specific and related to puberty and gonadal functions (Döcke, 1976a, b; Döcke et al., 1976).