1210 



HORMONAL REGULATION 



not feel that the percentage of spayed adre- 

 nalectomized female rats brought into heat 

 by estradiol benzoate alone was sufficiently 

 low to give strong support to this hypothe- 

 sis. Simpson and Williams (1949) also re- 

 jected the suggestion as being unlikely. 

 Noting that the dose of estradiol required 

 to induce mating in spayed-adrenalecto- 

 mized and in spayed rats was the same, they 

 expressed doubt that the adrenal cortex par- 

 ticipates in the induction of heat responses 

 in females. Shortly thereafter a single report 

 of such activity appeared (Christy, Dickie 

 and Woolley, 1950) ; spayed female mice 

 with adrenal cortical hyperplasia or neo- 

 plasma are said to have exhibited irregular 

 cycles and to have mated in normal fashion. 

 However, until cases involving a comparable 

 action by normal adrenal glands are found, 

 the weight of the evidence is against the di- 

 rect participation of cortical hormones in 

 the stimulation of mating behavior. 



A recent suggestion that the adrenal has 

 the sort of action on behavior generally at- 

 tributed to the gonadal hormones followed 

 the observation that gonadectomy does not 

 greatly reduce the running activity of male 

 or female wild Norway rats (Richter and 

 Uhlenhuth, 1954). The authors postulated 

 that steroids from the adrenals contribute 

 to the production of running activity. In 

 support of the hypothesis they pointed out 

 (1) the adrenals of wild rats are larger than 

 those of domesticated rats, (2) they contain 

 more Sudan IV stained lipids, and (3) the 

 sharp drop in activity after gonadectomy of 

 domestic rats can be entirely or partially 

 prevented by therapy with cortisone or 

 desoxycorticosterone acetate. 



Waxenberg, Drellich and Sutherland 

 (1959) have summarized their clinical notes 

 on 14 patients with metastatic breast cancer 

 for whom there was objective evidence of 

 improvement following adrenalectomy and 

 who reported sex functioning before the op- 

 eration. In 12 there was a postoperative de- 

 crease in all the variables not previously at 

 zero levels. After presenting evidence that 

 oophorectomy has little effect on sexual be- 

 havior, it was concluded that any discussion 

 of the hormonal basis of human sexuality 

 must concern itself as much with the ad- 

 renals as with the ovaries. 



The possibility of a direct action by the 

 pituitary is thought to be excluded by the 

 numerous reports of mating behavior by hy- 

 pophysectoraized male and female rats ( Nel- 

 son and Gallagher, 1936; Muhlbock, 1940; 

 Astwood and Dempsey, 1941; Ball, 1941b), 

 female rabbits (Robson and Schonberg, 

 1937), female dogs (Robson and Henderson, 

 1936), and female cats (Maes, 1940). In- 

 direct effects are of course assumed. The re- 

 duction in the running activity of the rat to 

 a level one-third to one-half that before 

 hypophysectomy (Levinson, Welsh and 

 Abramowitz;, 1941 ) may be such an effect. 

 Dempsey's (1939) failure to induce estrus in 

 completely hypophysectomized guinea pigs 

 may also have been a conseciuence of effects 

 on metabolism rather than anything more 

 direct. 



The thyroid has received much attention, 

 but (luantitative and well controlled data 

 are not numerous. Too often it is simjily 

 stated that mating did or did not occur fol- 

 lowing treatment with thyroid substances, 

 antithyroid drugs, or after thyroidectomy. 

 Numerous reports of this type are cited in 

 some recent reviews (Maqsood, 1952; Young, 

 Rayner, Peterson and Brown, 1952; Peter- 

 son, Webster, Rayner and Young, 1952). In 

 the same articles efforts are made to account 

 for the many contradictory statements and 

 to indicate something of what must be done 

 if the problem is to be clarified. 



^Maqsood directs attention to the preco- 

 cious sexual behavior of young male rabbits 

 and lambs, to the improved libido of adult 

 male rabbits and goats ( quoted from Turner, 

 Mixner and Reineke, 1943), and to the pre- 

 vention of the seasonal decline in lil)ido in 

 rams resulting from the administration of 

 thyroxine or other thyroid substances in 

 "optimal doses." He states that thyroxine 

 when injected in large doses adversely af- 

 fected development of the gonads and acces- 

 sory sex organs in the growing male rabbit, 

 and emphasizes the importance of consider- 

 ing the normal rate of thyroxine secretion 

 when thyroid materials are being adminis- 

 tered. The inference seems clear that the re- 

 duction or loss in sexual interest by guinea 

 pigs (Doderlein, 1928) , white Leghorn hens 

 (Belawenetz, 1928; Collias, 1946), and cows 

 (Van Landingham, Hyatt, Weakley, and 



