10 Reproductive behavior Flashcards
Gamete
Mature reproductive cell, sperm or ovum.
Sexually dimorphic behavior
Behavior that has different forms or that occurs with different probabilities or under different circumstances and males and females.
Sex chromosome
X and Y chromosomes
Gonad
Ovary or testis
Sry
Sex-determining region Y
Gene on the Y chromosome whose product instructs the undifferentiated fetal gonads to develop into testes.
Organizational effect (of hormone)
Effect of a hormone on tissue differentiation and development.
Activational effect (of hormone)
Effect of a hormone that occurs in a fully developed organism; may depend on the organisms prior exposure to the organizational effects of hormones.
Mullerian system
Embryonic precursors of the female internal sex organs.
Wolffian system
Embryonic prescriptions of the male internal sex organs.
Anti-Mullerian hormone
Peptide secreted by the fetal testes that inhibits the development of the Mullerian system, which would otherwise become the female internal sex organs.
Defeminizing effect
Effect of a hormone present early in development that reduces or prevents the later development of anatomical or behavioral characteristics of females.
Androgen
Male sex steroid hormone. Testosterone is the principal mammalian androgen.
Masculinizing effect
Effect of a hormone present early in development that promotes the later development of anatomical or behavioral characteristics typical of males.
Testosterone
Principal androgen found in males.
Dyhydrotestosterone
Androgen, produced from testosterone through the action of the enzyme 5-alpha reductase.
Androgen intensity syndrome
Condition caused by a congenital lack of functioning androgen receptors; in a person with XY sex chromosomes, causes the development of a female with testes but no internal sex organs.
Persistent Mullerian duct syndrome
Condition caused by congenital lack of anti-Mullerian hormone or receptors for this hormone; in the male, causes development of both male and female internal sex organs.
Turner’s syndrome
Presence of only one sex chromosome (x chromosome); characterized by lack of ovaries but otherwise normal female sex organs and genitalia.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)
Hypothalamic hormone that stimulates the anterior pituitary gland to secrete gonadotropic hormone.
Gonadotropin hormone
Hormone of the anterior pituitary gland that has a stimulating effect on cells of the gonads.
Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
Hormone of the anterior pituitary gland that causes development of an ovarian follicle and the maturation of an ovum.
Luteinizing hormone (LH)
Hormone of the anterior pituitary gland that causes ovulation and development of the ovarian follicle into a corpus luteum.
Kisspeptin
Peptide produced by neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus under the control of leptin receptors; essential for initiation of puberty and maintenance of reproductive ability.
Estradiol
Principal estrogen of many mammals, including humans.
Estrogen
Class of sex hormones that cause maturation of the female genitalia, growth of breast tissue, and development of other physical features characteristic of females.
Menstrual cycle
Female reproductive cycle of most primates, including humans; characterized by a growth of the lining of the uterus, ovulation, development of a corpus luteum, and (if pregnancy does not occur), menstruation.
Estrous cycle
Female reproductive cycle of mammals other than primates.
Ovarian follicle
Cluster of epithelial cells surrounding in occyte, which develops into an ovum.
Corpus luteum
Cluster of cells that develops from the ovarian follicle after ovulation; secretes estradiol and progesterone.
Progesterone
Steroid hormone produced by the ovary and maintains the endometrial lining of the uterus during the later part of the menstrual cycle and during pregnancy; along with estradiol it promotes receptivity in female mammals with estrus cycles.
Refractory period
Period of time after a particular action during which the action cannot occur again.
Coolidge effect
Restorative effective of introducing a new female sex partner to a male that has apparently become exhausted by sexual activity.
Oxytocin
Hormone secreted by the posterior pituitary gland; causes contraction of the smooth muscle of the milk ducts, uterus, and the male ejaculatory system; also serves as a neurotransmitter in the brain.
Lordosis
Spinal sexual reflex seen in many four-legged female mammals; arching of the back in response to approach of the male or to touching the flanks which elevates the hindquarters.
Pheromone
Chemical released by one animal that affects the behavior or physiology of another animal; usually smelled or tasted.
Lee-Boot effect
Slowing and eventual sensation of estrous cycles in groups of female animals that a house together; caused by a pheromone in the animals’ urine; first observed in mice.
Whitten effect
Synchronization of the menstrual or estrous cycles of a group of females, which occurs slowly in the presence of a pheromone in the mail’s urine.
Vandenbergh effect
Earliest onset of puberty seen in female animals that are housed with males; caused by a pheromone in the mail’s urine; first observed in mice.
Bruce effect
Termination of pregnancy caused by the odor of a pheromone in the urine a male now other than the one that impregnated the female; first identified in mice.
Vomeronasal organ (VNO)
Sensory organ that detects the presence of certain chemicals, especially when a liquid is actively sniffed; mediates the effects of some pheromones.
Accessory olfactory bulb
Neural structure located in the main olfactory bulb that receives information from the vomeronasal organ.
Medial nucleus of the amygdala
Nucleus that receives olfactory information from the olfactory bulb and accessory olfactory bulb; involved in the effects of owners and pheromones on reproductive behavior.
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)
Condition characterized by hypersecretion of androgens by the adrenal cortex; in females, causes masculinization of the external genitalia.
Medial preoptic area (MPA)
Area of cell bodies just rostral to the hypothalamus; plays an essential role in male sexual behavior.
Sexually dimorphic nucleus
Nucleus in the preoptic area that is much larger than males and females; first observed in rats; plays a role in male sexual behavior.
Periaqueductal gray matter (PAG)
Region of the midbrain that surrounds the cerebral aqueduct; plays an essential role in various species-typical behaviors, including female sexual behavior.
Nucleus perigigantoularis (nPGi)
Nucleus of the medulla that receives input from the medial preoptic area and contains neurons whose axons form synapses with motor neurons in the spinal cord that participate in sexual reflexes and males.
Ventral medial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH)
Large nucleus of the hypothalamus located near the walls of the third ventricle; plays an essential role in female sexual behavior.
Parturition
Active giving birth.
Prolactin
Hormone of the anterior pituitary gland, necessary for production of milk; also facilitates maternal behavior.
