Early postnatal diazepam exposure alters sex differences in the rat brain

The volume and neuron number of the sexually dimorphic accessory olfactory bulb and locus coeruleus are altered by early postnatal exposure (from the day of birth to postnatal day 16) to diazepam. After diazepam treatment, both volume and neuron number were decreased in the male accessory olfactory bulb and in the female locus coeruleus. These results indicate that early postnatal diazepam administration can bear gender-dependent teratogenic effects upon sexually dimorphic nuclei and suggest that endogenous benzodiazepines may be involved in the sexual differentiation of the brain.