L6 Female Reproductive Behavior

Question 1

females are generally viewed as passive participants in sex behavior with lower sex drive than males, butttt….

Answer 1

• females will risk injury and death copulate when in estrus
• females often control pace and frequency of sex behavior

Question 2

animal ovaries injected in OVX rats resulted in…

Answer 2

restored mating behavior (estrus) in some animals

Question 3

hormones released by ovaries were called…

Answer 3

estrogens for inducing estrus

Question 4

3 female sex behaviors

Answer 4

courtship, mating, ovulation

Question 5

3 factors of parental care

Answer 5

pregnancy, parturition (giving birth), lactation

Question 6

hypothalamus -> a. pituitary -> ovaries

Answer 6

GnRH -> LH/FSH -> E/P

Question 7

what is the primary function of GnRH, LH/FSH, and E/P in females?

Answer 7

oogenesis

Question 8

2 follicular cell types

Answer 8

theca cells, granulosa cells

Question 9

theca cells

Answer 9

synthesize androgens from cholesterol; stimulated by LH

Question 10

granulosa cell

Answer 10

aromatizes androgens to estrogens; stimulated by FSH and E

Question 11

how do granulosa cells work?

Answer 11

positive AND negative feedback loops; can respond to estrogen as well as respond to estrogen

Question 12

the hypothalamus is stimulated by…

Answer 12

high levels of estradiol

Question 13

the hypothalamus is inhibited by…

Answer 13

estradiol and progesterone

Question 14

when does the hypothalamus become a positive feedback loop?

Answer 14

right before ovulation

Question 15

when stimulated the hypothalamus secretes…

Answer 15

GnRH

Question 16

GnRH stimulates the anterior pituitary to secrete…

Answer 16

LH and FSH

Question 17

the anterior pituitary is inhibited by…

Answer 17

low levels of estradiol

Question 18

gonadotropins, LH/FSH, stimulate…

Answer 18

follicle to grow

Question 19

LH surge triggers…

Answer 19

ovulation

Question 20

follicular phase

Answer 20

follicle is growing and maturing

Question 21

luteal phase

Answer 21

corpus luteum degenerates

Question 22

ovulation

Answer 22

egg is released, LH spikes

Question 23

2 variations in reproductive cycles

Answer 23

spontaneous vs. induced ovulation
spontaneous vs. induced pseudopregnancy

Question 24

pseudopregnancy

Answer 24

formation of the corpus luteum and release of progesterone regardless of whether or not fertilization occurs

Question 25

estrus (heat)

Answer 25

time period when females are sexually receptive

Question 26

3 categories of female estrous behavior

Answer 26

attractivity, proceptivity, receptivity

Question 27

attractivity

Answer 27

stimulus value of a female for a given male; how attractive female is to male

Question 28

proceptivity

Answer 28

extent to which a female initiates copulation (precopulatory phase); what a female is willing to do for a male

Question 29

receptivity

Answer 29

female state of responsiveness to the sexual initiation of another individual (copulatory phase); how female responds

Question 30

attractivity can be measured with...

Answer 30

preference tests

Question 31

in female estrous behavior, estrogen increases...

Answer 31

activity

Question 32

proceptivity can be measured by...

Answer 32

female presentation or solicitation

Question 33

almost all contact between the sexes in nonhuman primates is initiated by...

Answer 33

females

Question 34

females most attractive to males are also...

Answer 34

the most attracted to males

Question 35

receptivity is indicated by...

Answer 35

female assuming species specific mating posture

Question 36

Lordosis

Answer 36

position assumed by females to allow intromission

Question 37

Lordosis quotient (LQ)

Answer 37

number of times female shows lordosis / number of mounts by male

Question 38

E appears to have what kind of effect on female's estrous behavior

Answer 38

priming effect on female's ability to respond to P; E is needed first for P to have effect

Question 39

E has priming effect by increasing...

Answer 39

P receptors in specific brain areas

Question 40

do PRKO rodents demonstrate lordosis?

Answer 40

NO

Question 41

behavior (including lordosis) is mediated by...

Answer 41

CNS

Question 42

3 brain regions involved in female (rodent) sex behavior

Answer 42

1) ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN) 2) medial preoptic area (mPOA) 3) medial anterior hypothalamus (MAH)

Question 43

true mating behavior can only be observed in...

Answer 43

natural environments

Question 44

pacing

Answer 44

female rats control rate of mating attempts by males when placed in semi-natural environment; allows male and female mating strategies to co-exist

Question 45

in a group setting, what influences female mating behaviors?

Answer 45

sex and number of individuals; appears to be mediated by olfaction

Question 46

Bruce Effect

Answer 46

pregnant females abort / resorb fetuses if exposed to a male that was not the sire for >48 hrs; exposure to male urine induces GnRH release and estrus