Male rats were castrated on the day of birth (day 1) and injected with either testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, a synthetic oestrogen (RU 2858), RU 2858 + dihydrotestosterone, or oil from days 1 to 5. The aromatizable androgen, testosterone, and RU 2858 suppressed both cyclic gonadotrophin secretion, indicated by the absence of corpora lutea from implanted ovarian grafts, and the behavioural response to oestradiol benzoate + progesterone injections in adulthood. The 5α-reduced androgen, dihydrotestosterone alone did not affect gonadotrophin secretion or female receptive behaviour, but like testosterone, it increased penis development in response to testosterone propionate, and this was positively correlated with copulatory efficiency, i.e. the ratio of intromission to mount frequencies. Nevertheless, ejaculation only occurred among animals that had received testosterone or RU 2858 + dihydrotestosterone. The results support the concept that during the perinatal period, neural conversion of androgens to oestrogens is important both for the suppression of female gonadotrophin secretion and behaviour patterns as well as for the organization of male behaviour patterns. The 5α-reduction of unsaturated C19-steroids to dihydrotestosterone in peripheral tissues is also required to complete the development of the male genital tract.
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