Sex steroids and human behavior: prenatal androgen exposure and sex-typical play behavior in children
Abstract
Gonadal hormones, particularly androgens, direct certain aspects of brain development and exert permanent influences on sex-typical behavior in nonhuman mammals. Androgens also influence human behavioral development, with the most convincing evidence coming from studies of sex-typical play. Girls exposed to unusually high levels of androgens prenatally, because they have the genetic disorder, congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), show increased preferences for toys and activities usually preferred by boys, and for male playmates, and decreased preferences for toys and activities usually preferred by girls. Normal variability in androgen prenatally also has been related to subsequent sex-typed play behavior in girls, and nonhuman primates have been observed to show sex-typed preferences for human toys. These findings suggest that androgen during early development influences childhood play behavior in humans at least in part by altering brain development.
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Female play can also be altered by neuro-endocrine manipulations.
“although it is well known that female play can also be altered by neuro-endocrine manipulations (Hines 2003; Nordenstrom et al. 2002; Servin et al. 2003).”
From Perinatal Exposure to Low Levels of the Environmental Antiandrogen Vinclozolin Alters Sex-Differentiated Social Play and Sexual Behaviors in the Rat (2005) · cites this paper as Hines 2003
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Prenatal stress feminizes juvenile play patterns in male rats
Ward, I. L., & Stehm, K. E. (1991) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/0031-9384(91)90552-y · Cited by 125 · see citing works
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Li, F., Cui, Y., Li, Y., Guo, L., Ke, X., Liu, J., Luo, X., Zheng, Y., & Leckman, J. F. (2022) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13445 · Cited by 498 · see citing works
Colbert, N. K. W., Pelletier, N. C., Cote, J. M., Concannon, J. B., Jurdak, N. A., Minott, S. B., & Markowski, V. P. (2005) · Environmental Health Perspectives · doi:10.1289/ehp.7509 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Maryniak, A., Ginalska-Malinowska, M., Bielawska, A., & Ondruch, A. (2014) · Child Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/09297049.2012.745495 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
- Authors
- HINES, M.
- Affiliations
- City, University of London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- HINES, MELISSA
- ORCID
- HINES, MELISSA
- Venue
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2003-12
- Volume
- 1007
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 272-282
- ISSN
- 0077-8923 (ISSN-L)
- 1749-6632
- OpenAlex
- W1964973101
- Cited by
- 82
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 0.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD024542, HD 24542)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities
- Keywords
- prenatal androgen exposure, sex-typed behavior, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, brain development, gonadal hormones, toy preferences, non-human primates
- MeSH terms
- Androgens, Animals, Brain, Child, Female, Humans, Play and Playthings, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Sexual Behavior
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