Ch.7 Bio Psych Flashcards
Activating Effects
Hormonal effects on sexual development that can occur at any time in an individual’s life; their duration depends on the presence of the hormone.
Amygdala
Limbic system structure located near the lateral ventricle in each temporal lobe that is involved with primarily negative emotions and with sexual behavior, aggression, and learning, especially in emotional situations.
Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome
A form of 46 XY difference in sexual development (DSD), involving insensitivity to androgen because of a genetic absence of androgen receptors. The person has male sex chromosomes and internal sex organs, but external sex characteristics are feminized or ambiguous.
Androgens
A class of hormones responsible for a number of male characteristics and functions.
Castration
Removal of the gonads (testes or ovaries).
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)
A form of 46 XX difference in sexual development (DSD) characterized by XX chromosomes, female internal sex organs, and ambiguous or masculinized external sex characteristics. It is caused by excess production of androgens during prenatal development.
Coolidge Effect
An increase in sexual activity when the variety of sexual partners increases; named after former president Calvin Coolidge.
Dihydrotestosterone
A derivative of testosterone that masculinizes the genitals of males.
Estrogen
A class of hormones responsible for a number of female characteristics and functions; produced by the ovaries in women and, to a lesser extent, by the adrenal glands in males and females.
Estrus
A period when a nonhuman female animal is ovulating and sex hormone levels are high.
46 XX Difference in Sexual Development
A female fetus with two X sex chromosomes is masculinized (develops male characteristics) by abnormally high levels of androgen hormones.
46 XY Difference in Sexual Development
A genetic male with X and Y sex chromosomes is feminized (develops female characteristics) due to abnormally low levels of androgens or a lack of androgen receptors.
Gender
The behavioral characteristics associated with being male or female.
Gender Dysphoria
The distress that people may feel when their gender identity does not match their sex at birth.
Gender Identity
The sex to which a person identifies as belonging.
Gender Nonconformity
Sex-atypical mannerisms and dress, a tendency to engage in activities usually preferred by the other sex, and an atypical preference for other-sex playmates and companions while growing up.
Gender Role
A set of behaviors society considers appropriate for members of the same sex.
Gonads
The primary reproductive organs; testes in the male or ovaries in the female. An individual can have only one of the two types of gonads.
Medial Amygdala
Part of the amygdala that apparently responds to sexually exciting stimuli. In both male and female rats, it is active during copulation, and it causes the release of dopamine in the MPOA.
Medial Preoptic Area (MPOA)
A part of the preoptic area of the hypothalamus that appears to be important for sexual performance, but not sexual motivation, in male and female rats.
Müllerian Ducts
Early structures that in the female develop into the uterus, fallopian tubes, and inner vagina.
Müllerian Inhibiting Hormone
A hormone released in the male that causes the Müllerian ducts to degenerate.
Organizing Effects
Hormonal effects of sexual development that occur during the prenatal period and shortly after birth and are permanent.
Ovaries
The female gonads, where the ova develop.
Oxytocin
A neuropeptide hormone and neurotransmitter involved in lactation and orgasm; dubbed the “sociability molecule” because it affects social behavior and bonding.
Pheromones
Airborne chemicals released by an animal that have physiological or behavioral effects on another animal of the same species.
Sex
The term for the biological characteristics that divide humans and other animals into the categories of male and female.
Sexually Dimorphic Nucleus (SDN)
A part of the MPOA important to male sexual behavior. It is larger in male rats, and their level of sexual activity depends on SDN size.
Testes
The male gonads that produce sperm.
Testosterone
The major sex hormone in males; a member of the class of androgens.
Third Interstitial Nucleus of the Anterior Hypothalamus (INAH3)
A nucleus found to be half as large in gay men and heterosexual women as in heterosexual men, and similar in size in women and male-to-female transgender individuals.
Transgender
An individual who believes he or she has been born into the wrong sex; the person may dress and live as the other sex and may undergo surgery for sex reassignment.
Ventromedial Hypothalamus
An area in the hypothalamus important for sexual receptivity and copulation in female rats. It is also involved in eating behavior, and destruction in rats produces extreme obesity.
Wolffian Ducts
The early structures that in the male develop into the seminal vesicles and the vas deferens.
Vomeronasal Organ (VNO)
A cluster of receptors in the nasal cavity that detect pheromones.
