Sex

Question 1

How do hormones act?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Tropic hormones

Answer 2

pituitary hormones that affect other endocrine glands

Question 3

Releasing hormones

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Vasopressin

Answer 4

raises blood pressure and inhibits urine formation

Question 5

Oxytocin

Answer 5

Maternal behaviors

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

Question 6

Hypothalamic neurons

Answer 6

synthesize releasing hormones

Question 7

Thyroid hormones

Answer 7

contain iodine and depend on its supply

Question 8

cretinism

Answer 8

Early thyroid deficiency results in cretinism with mental retardation

Question 9

goiter

Answer 9

a swelling of the thyroid gland from iodine deficiency

Question 10

Endocrine pathology

Answer 10

mimics psychiatric disorders

Question 11

Cushing’s disease

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Sexual Orientation

Answer 12

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

Question 13

INAH3

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Anterior commissure (AC)

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Why do we have sex?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

estrus

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Androgen

Answer 18

a male sex hormone, such as testosterone

Question 19

sexual response curve

Answer 19

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

Question 20

primary area of activation in brain during male orgasm

Answer 20

ventral tegmental area

Question 21

primary area of activation/inhibition in brain during female orgasm

Answer 21

Activation of the deep cerebellar nuclei

Inhibition of orbitofrontal cortex

Question 22

Medial amygdala

Answer 22

Involved in sex, smell, aggression, and emotions

Question 23

Sexually dimorphic nucleus

male

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Ventromedial hypothalamus

female

Answer 24

Receptivity to male advances

Question 25

Dopamine (DA) (+)

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Serotonin (5HT) (-)

Answer 26

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

Question 27

SRY gene (sex-determining region on Y chromosome)

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Organizing effects

Answer 28

mostly occur prenatally or shortly after birth | They affect structure and are lifelong

Question 29

Activating effects

Answer 29

occur at any time in life | Come/go with hormone fluctuations or are long lasting, but are reversible

Question 30

Hormone surges at puberty

Answer 30

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

Question 31

masculinization

Answer 31

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

Question 32

estradiol

Answer 32

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

Question 33

male brains vs. female brains

Answer 33

Males have greater asymmetry than females | Right hemisphere thicker in males than females

Question 34

male/female differences

Answer 34

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

Question 35

High estrogen level

Answer 35

associated with depressed spatial ability enhanced speech and manual skill tasks

Question 36

Testosterone during the 2nd trimester

Answer 36

increases cerebral asymmetry via accelerated growth of the right hemisphere

Question 37

gender division

Answer 37

Gender is a continuum, not a dichotomy

Question 38

Gender-Related Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders

Answer 38

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

Question 39

brain activity during spatial rotations in females

Answer 39

Women rely more on frontal areas to perform spatial rotations

Question 40

female corpus callosum

Answer 40

women have larger corpus callosum | size of corpus callosum correlates with cognitive skills in women