The anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) is a small cluster of cells located in the preoptic area of hypothalamus of the brain that is abundant in nuclear hormone receptors in a sexually dimorphic manner, strongly implicated, in rat models, as being neonatally imprinted and subsequently controlling sex-typical physiology and behaviors.
[1] This nucleus or cluster of cells is typically of bigger size in females than males, contrary to the sexually dimorphic nucleus (SDN) that is bigger in males.
[2] In rats and mice, the AVPV plus the periventricular nucleus make up the rostral periventricular region of the third ventricle (RP3V).
This area is full of kisspeptin-expressing neurons and is involved in regulating GnRH neurons, and is responsible for the LH surge in female mice.
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