128 Male Gender Bias and Levels of Male Hormones During Fetal Development
(a)(b)Figure 5.1 Effects of different levels of testosterone on (a) a female and (b) a male fetal
brain cell line. The cells were exposed to 0.64, 0.82 and 1.2 nM/l concentrations of
testosterone (representing normotypic, autistic and Asperger children, respectively) [3–6].
(A) Cell lines without testosterone exposure. (B) Exposure to 0.64 nM/l of testosterone.
(C) Exposure to 0.82 nM/l of testosterone. (D) Exposure to 1.2 nM/l of testosterone.There
were significant morphological changes in cells exposed to testosterone and significantly
more changes in cells exposed to higher concentrations of testosterone (i.e., C and D)
compared with normotypic testosterone concentration (i.e., B). There was no statistically
significant difference between female and male neurons (Bagasra et al., unpublished data).
Reproduced with permission of Bagasra et al.