Ch.7 Bio Psych

Question 1

Activating Effects

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

Amygdala

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

Androgens

Answer 4

A class of hormones responsible for a number of male characteristics and functions.

Question 5

Castration

Answer 5

Removal of the gonads (testes or ovaries).

Question 6

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

Coolidge Effect

Answer 7

An increase in sexual activity when the variety of sexual partners increases; named after former president Calvin Coolidge.

Question 8

Dihydrotestosterone

Answer 8

A derivative of testosterone that masculinizes the genitals of males.

Question 9

Estrogen

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

Estrus

Answer 10

A period when a nonhuman female animal is ovulating and sex hormone levels are high.

Question 11

46 XX Difference in Sexual Development

Answer 11

A female fetus with two X sex chromosomes is masculinized (develops male characteristics) by abnormally high levels of androgen hormones.

Question 12

46 XY Difference in Sexual Development

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

Gender

Answer 13

The behavioral characteristics associated with being male or female.

Question 14

Gender Dysphoria

Answer 14

The distress that people may feel when their gender identity does not match their sex at birth.

Question 15

Gender Identity

Answer 15

The sex to which a person identifies as belonging.

Question 16

Gender Nonconformity

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

Gender Role

Answer 17

A set of behaviors society considers appropriate for members of the same sex.

Question 18

Gonads

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

Medial Amygdala

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

Medial Preoptic Area (MPOA)

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

Müllerian Ducts

Answer 21

Early structures that in the female develop into the uterus, fallopian tubes, and inner vagina.

Question 22

Müllerian Inhibiting Hormone

Answer 22

A hormone released in the male that causes the Müllerian ducts to degenerate.

Question 23

Organizing Effects

Answer 23

Hormonal effects of sexual development that occur during the prenatal period and shortly after birth and are permanent.

Question 24

Ovaries

Answer 24

The female gonads, where the ova develop.

Question 25

Oxytocin

Answer 25

A neuropeptide hormone and neurotransmitter involved in lactation and orgasm; dubbed the “sociability molecule” because it affects social behavior and bonding.

Question 26

Pheromones

Answer 26

Airborne chemicals released by an animal that have physiological or behavioral effects on another animal of the same species.

Question 27

Sex

Answer 27

The term for the biological characteristics that divide humans and other animals into the categories of male and female.

Question 28

Sexually Dimorphic Nucleus (SDN)

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

Testes

Answer 29

The male gonads that produce sperm.

Question 30

Testosterone

Answer 30

The major sex hormone in males; a member of the class of androgens.

Question 31

Third Interstitial Nucleus of the Anterior Hypothalamus (INAH3)

Answer 31

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.

Question 32

Transgender

Answer 32

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.

Question 33

Ventromedial Hypothalamus

Answer 33

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.

Question 34

Wolffian Ducts

Answer 34

The early structures that in the male develop into the seminal vesicles and the vas deferens.

Question 35

Vomeronasal Organ (VNO)

Answer 35

A cluster of receptors in the nasal cavity that detect pheromones.