Researchers at the Joan C Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University (in Huntington in the US state of West Virginia) have discovered evidence that there are differences in the development of neuron (brain cell) networks between males and females in mammals. Their research has shown that the synaptogenic response in brain cells derived from new-born male rats is substantially more robust that that in cells derived from new-born female rats, when these cells were exposed to elements secreted by cells called astrocytes. Astrocytes are non-neuronal cells that are scattered throughout the central nervous system. Synapses form the basic elements for brain connectivity. The study showed that male- and female-derived neurons responded differently when exposed to a protein normally secreted by astrocytes, called thrombospondin-2 (TSP2). In the male-derived cells, the TSP2 prompted strong increases in synapse development, but in the female-derived cells, it had no effect.
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