The anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) is a small cluster of cells located in the

preoptic area The preoptic area is a region of the hypothalamus. MeSH classifies it as part of the anterior hypothalamus. TA lists four nuclei in this region, (medial, median, lateral, and periventricular). Functions The preoptic area is responsible for the ...

hypothalamus The hypothalamus (: hypothalami; ) is a small part of the vertebrate brain that contains a number of nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrin ...

of the brain that is abundant in

nuclear hormone receptor In the field of molecular biology, nuclear receptors are a class of proteins responsible for sensing steroids, thyroid hormones, vitamins, and certain other molecules. These intracellular receptors work with other proteins to regulate the exp ...

s in a

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

manner, strongly implicated, in rat models, as being neonatally imprinted and subsequently controlling sex-typical physiology and behaviors. This nucleus or cluster of cells is typically of bigger size in females than males, contrary to the

sexually dimorphic nucleus The sexually dimorphic nucleus (SDN) is an ovoid, densely packed cluster of large cells located in the medial preoptic area (POA) of the hypothalamus which is believed to be related to sexual behavior in animals. Thus far, for all species of m ...

(SDN) that is bigger in males. In rats and mice, the AVPV plus the

periventricular nucleus The periventricular nucleus is a thin sheet of small neurons located in the wall of the third ventricle, a composite structure of the hypothalamus. It functions in analgesia. It is located in the rostral, intermediate, and caudal regions of t ...

make up the rostral periventricular region of the third ventricle (RP3V). This area is full of

kisspeptin Kisspeptins (including kisspeptin-54 (KP-54), formerly known as metastin) are proteins encoded by the ''KISS1'' gene in humans. Kisspeptins are ligands of the G-protein coupled receptor, GPR54. ''Kiss1'' was originally identified as a human me ...

-expressing neurons and is involved in regulating

GnRH Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a releasing hormone responsible for the release of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) from the anterior pituitary. GnRH is a tropic peptide hormone synthesized and released ...

neurons, and is responsible for the

LH surge Luteinizing hormone (LH, also known as luteinising hormone, lutropin and sometimes lutrophin) is a hormone produced by gonadotropic cells in the anterior pituitary gland. The production of LH is regulated by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnR ...

in female mice.

References

Hypothalamus Animal sexuality {{neuroanatomy-stub