Comparative neuroanatomy of the sexually dimorphic hypothalamus in monogamous and polygamous voles.

In the present work we evaluated the degree of sexual dimorphism in two cell groups of the medial preoptic-anterior hypothalamus (MPOA-AH) in monogamous and polygamous voles. Quantitative determinations were made of volume, cell number, and cell density for the anteroventral-periventricular nucleus (AVPV) and the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area (SDN-POA). Polygamous montane voles (Microtus montanus) had a greater degree of sexual dimorphism in both cell groups than did monogamous prairie voles (M. ochrogaster). Most notable was the complete absence of the AVPV in male montane voles; male montane voles also had a significantly larger SDN-POA volume than did females. The only sexual dimorphism in prairie voles was a greater cell density in the female AVPV. In addition, prairie voles had larger relative brain size than did montane voles. Comparative behavioral studies have revealed a correlation between the degree of sexual dimorphism in external morphology and mating system, i.e., polygamous species display greater levels of dimorphism than do monogamous species. The present results indicate that the effects of sexual selection can also be seen in those brain regions, like the hypothalamus, that underlie social and reproductive behavior. Moreover, these results support the hypothesis that neuroanatomic dimorphisms in the MPOA-AH may be related to sex differences in behavior.