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Behavioral Neuroscience > Sex > Flashcards

Sex Flashcards

1
Q

How do hormones act?

A

Hormones act in a gradual fashion
Hormones often have pulsatile secretion – in bursts
Some hormones are controlled by circadian clocks

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2
Q

Tropic hormones

A

pituitary hormones that affect other endocrine glands

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3
Q

Releasing hormones

A

hormones released from hypothalamus control pituitary’s release of tropic hormones
secreted into local blood vessels

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4
Q

Vasopressin

A

raises blood pressure and inhibits urine formation

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5
Q

Oxytocin

A

Maternal behaviors

Oxytocin rises in women in affectionate relationships, and in those in distressed relationships

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6
Q

Hypothalamic neurons

A

synthesize releasing hormones

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7
Q

Thyroid hormones

A

contain iodine and depend on its supply

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8
Q

cretinism

A

Early thyroid deficiency results in cretinism with mental retardation

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9
Q

goiter

A

a swelling of the thyroid gland from iodine deficiency

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10
Q

Endocrine pathology

A

mimics psychiatric disorders

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11
Q

Cushing’s disease

A

results from long-term excess glucocorticoids, with fatigue and depression

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12
Q

Sexual Orientation

A

3.5% of American adults identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual, 0.3% are transgender - about 12 million Americans total
Homosexuality is 2-7 times higher among siblings of homosexuals than in population

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13
Q

INAH3

A

(third interstitial nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus) is female-sized (smaller) in gay men

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14
Q

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

A

larger in gay men than in heterosexual men and contains more vasopressin-secreting cells

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15
Q

Anterior commissure (AC)

A

is larger in gay men and heterosexual women than in heterosexual men

Gay men’s verbal and spatial performance is more similar to women’s than to heterosexual men’s

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16
Q

Why do we have sex?

A

Reproduction (more of us)
DNA shuffling (but not exactly us)
It’s fun (uniquely human?)

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17
Q

estrus

A

If a female is sexually receptive she is in estrus (non-human)

18
Q

Androgen

A

a male sex hormone, such as testosterone

19
Q

sexual response curve

A

In both men and women:

1) Excitement phase (arousal)
2) In plateau arousal levels off
3) Orgasm
4) Resolution, as arousal falls and body returns to normal

20
Q

primary area of activation in brain during male orgasm

A

ventral tegmental area

21
Q

primary area of activation/inhibition in brain during female orgasm

A

Activation of the deep cerebellar nuclei

Inhibition of orbitofrontal cortex

22
Q

Medial amygdala

A

Involved in sex, smell, aggression, and emotions

23
Q

Sexually dimorphic nucleus

male

A 
Located in MPOA (INH3)
(medial preoptic area)
2-3x larger in men
Male sexual activity related to its size
Size depends on prenatal exposure to testosterone
24
Q

Ventromedial hypothalamus

female

A

Receptivity to male advances

25
Q

Dopamine (DA) (+)

A

DA activity in MPOA motivates sex behavior in both sexes, esp. in men
Drugs that increase DA increase sexual activity in humans
Increasing levels of DA produce erection in males, then ejaculation

26
Q

Serotonin (5HT) (-)

A

Injecting SSRI into LH increases time before male rats attempt to copulate again
Both men and women complain SSRIs impair their sexual ability

27
Q

SRY gene (sex-determining region on Y chromosome)

A

responsible for development of testes - Without an SRY gene, an ovary forms

28
Q

Organizing effects

A

mostly occur prenatally or shortly after birth

They affect structure and are lifelong

29
Q

Activating effects

A

occur at any time in life

Come/go with hormone fluctuations or are long lasting, but are reversible

30
Q

Hormone surges at puberty

A

trigger both organizing and activating effects:
Organizing effects:
Maturation of genitalia
Growth spurts

Activating effects at puberty:
Breast growth in girls and egg release during menstrual cycle
Sperm production, muscle development, hair growth in boys
and a dramatic increase in sexual interest

31
Q

masculinization

A

appears to be direct effect of testosterone on the developing brain:
Two testosterone surges in human pregnancy
weeks 12 and 18
weeks 34 to 40

32
Q

estradiol

A

masculinizes the nonprimate brain

Male:
Testosterone secreted into the blood reaches brain
Testosterone converted there to estradiol and dihydrotestosterone
Estradiol masculinizes the brain

Female:
A-fetoprotein in blood binds to estradiol
Prevents estradiol from entering brain
Protects female brains from being masculinized by estradiol

33
Q

male brains vs. female brains

A

Males have greater asymmetry than females

Right hemisphere thicker in males than females

34
Q

male/female differences

A

Most girls have greater verbal ability than most boys
Most boys excel in visual-spatial ability
Most boys are more physically aggressive than girls
There are more boys who are great at math than girls; but overall ability is the same

35
Q

High estrogen level

A

associated with
depressed spatial ability
enhanced speech and manual skill tasks

36
Q

Testosterone during the 2nd trimester

A

increases cerebral asymmetry via accelerated growth of the right hemisphere

37
Q

gender division

A

Gender is a continuum, not a dichotomy

38
Q

Gender-Related Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders

A

Men are more susceptible to autism, Tourette’s syndrome, dyslexia, ADHD

Women are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, autoimmune diseases

Testosterone suppresses inflammation; low testosterone levels predict premature death from heart disease

39
Q

brain activity during spatial rotations in females

A

Women rely more on frontal areas to perform spatial rotations

40
Q

female corpus callosum

A

women have larger corpus callosum

size of corpus callosum correlates with cognitive skills in women

Behavioral Neuroscience (14 decks)

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