# HORMONAL INFLUENCES ON NEURAL-BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 1993 · $128,290

## Abstract

An integrated program of human and animal research is proposed.  It will
examine neural and social factors underlying influences of androgens and
estrogens on development, particularly of the cerebral cortex and
cognition.  Human research will include studies of two groups exposed
prenatally to unusual hormone milieus:  1. children with congenital adrenal
hyperplasia (CAH) in which the adrenal gland overproduces androgen; and 2.
females with Turner's Syndrome (TS) in which the ovary fails to produce
hormones.  Study 1 will investigate the hypothesis that changes in toy
preferences of girls with CAH reflect social factors, such as parental
perceptions and treatment, rather than or in addition to hormonal
influences on the developing brain.  Children with CAH will be videotaped
alone, and with both parents, playing with sex-typed and neutral toys.
Paper and pencil measures will also be used to measure gender
identification and sex-typed parental perceptions, and to obtain broad
measures of behavior.  Study 2 will examine cognition in TS patients using
several tests, some measuring functions associated with males (e.g.,
visuospatial ability and language lateralization), some measuring functions
associated with females (e.g., verbal fluency and perceptual speed) and
some unrelated to gender.  These will distinguish among 3 hypotheses
concerning cognitive development in TS females: 1. impaired masculine
neural systems; 2. impaired masculine and feminine systems; or 3. general
impairment, unrelated to sexual differentiation.  Toy preferences of girls
with TS will be studied to determine if changes in play behavior parallel
adult cognitive function.  Research on rats will investigate mechanisms
underlying hormonal influences on the developing cerebral cortex and
provide information for interpreting clinical studies.  Data suggest that
hormonal influences on cortical development differ from those established
elsewhere.  We will use standard techniques of hormone removal and
administration to examine this.  We will also examine the distribution of
cortical estrogen receptors to delineate possible sites of hormone action
and to test the hypothesis that sex difference in cortical development
result from sex differences in receptor distribution.  This research will
provide information as to how hormonal and social factors act singly and in
combination to influence cortical and cognitive development.  It will
provide information regarding the relevance to human development of animal
models and will increase understanding of the behavioral consequences of
prenatal exposure to sex-typed hormones.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2199216
- **Project number:** 5R01HD024542-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **SAM.gov UEI:** RN64EPNH8JC6
- **Principal Investigator:** Melissa Hines
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $128,290
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1989-12-01 → 1995-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2199216

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2199216, HORMONAL INFLUENCES ON NEURAL-BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT (5R01HD024542-04). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2199216. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*