ABSTRACT
Nearly 20 years ago a sexually dimorphic neuromuscular system was described that offered a relatively simple behavioral model for exploring steroidal influences upon the development and adult function of the nervous system. The system consists of striated perineal muscles called the bulbocavernosus (BC) and levator ani (LA) and their innervating motoneurons in the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB). The chapter discusses the chronologically around the ontogeny of the SNB system. It explains how androgen acts upon a simple neural system guide efforts to understand the action of androgens in more complex neural systems. Androgen still has a role in regulating subsequent developmental stages, namely, neuromuscular synapse elimination and the growth and retraction of SNB motoneuronal dendrites. The effect of androgen on synapse elimination may be mediated via neurotrophic factors as has been suggested for the effect of androgen on SNB cell death.
