Sexual Differentiation of the Brain as a Manifestation of Its Plasticity

This review analyzes the published data and authors' own results on the roles of hormones and neurotransmitters in the formation of structural and functional sex-related dimorphism of the brain within the early ontogenesis period. Proof is presented in favor of the concept that "classic" neurotransmitters function as inductors of nerve cell differentiation in the process of individual development of the brain. Neurochemical mechanisms of the hormone-transmitter interaction in the process of sexual differentiation of the brain within pre- and/or post-natal periods are considered.