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Fig. 1 | Biology of Sex Differences

Fig. 1

From: Why the estrous cycle matters for neuroscience

Fig. 1

Study approach across neurobehavioral outcomes. A We performed two types of analyses. Analysis 1 took the estrous cycle information into account, comparing proestrus females (high estradiol–low progesterone), diestrus females (low estradiol–high progesterone), and males. Analysis 2 compared merged females (proestrus + diestrus) with males. The above diagram shows physiological fluctuations of ovarian hormones, estradiol and progesterone, over the rodent estrous cycle. B The first neurobehavioral outcomes analyzed included anxiety-related behavioral tests in mice such as the elevated plus maze (depicted). C The second level of analysis included spine density of dendrites located on neurons in the ventral hippocampal region, critical for control of anxiety-related behaviors. D We then analyzed molecular phenotypes including gene expression in the ventral hippocampus. E Finally, we assessed gene regulatory mechanisms in ventral hippocampal neurons including features of the higher-order chromatin organization such as CTCF loops. Pro (purple), proestrus; Die (light pink), diestrus; Female (red), mixed females; Male (blue), males.

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