Individual differences in developmental plasticity: A role for early androgens?

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Developmental biology
• Neuroendocrinology

Background:

• Developmental plasticity, or the ability to change in response to the environment, varies significantly between individuals.
• Previous research linked plasticity to stress reactivity, prenatal hormones like cortisol, and neurobiological genes, but determinants of individual differences remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel hypothesis: higher prenatal and early postnatal androgen exposure increases developmental plasticity for traits with greater male variability.
• To explore the evolutionary and neurobiological underpinnings of this proposed link.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing empirical evidence on male phenotypic variation and environmental susceptibility.
• Consideration of evolutionary models, particularly those involving sexual selection, to explain male variability.
• Theoretical exploration of potential neurobiological mechanisms, such as neural plasticity upregulation.

Main Results:

• Males exhibit greater phenotypic variation and susceptibility to environmental factors.
• Sexual selection models can explain greater male variability and plasticity.
• Androgens are hypothesized to promote developmental plasticity, especially for male-variable traits.

Conclusions:

• Androgen exposure may be a key factor influencing developmental plasticity in a sex-specific manner.
• Further research is needed to empirically test the proposed mechanisms and adaptive/maladaptive consequences of androgen-induced plasticity.