Sex Flashcards
1
Q
What is sexual dimorphism?
A
condition where the two sexes of the same species exhibit differents characteristics other than their sexual organs
2
Q
What are some example of caracteristics that can illustrate dimorphism?
A
- size
- weight
- color
- behavior
- cognition
3
Q
What is the sexual dimorphism between the male and the female of the triplewart seadevil?
A
the female is very big and the male is a tiny rudimentary parasitary createure
4
Q
What are sexual dimorphic behaviors?
A
behaviors that take different forms/occur with different probabilities/ occur under different circumstances across males and females of the same species
5
Q
What is the most striking category of sexual dimorphic behaviors in mammals?
A
reproductive behaviors
6
Q
Is the brain a sexually dimorphic organ?
A
yes
7
Q
How is the brain a sexually dimorphic organ?
A
The size and interconnectivity of certain brain regions vary according to sex
8
Q
In terms of human behavior, what are on average the sexually dimorphic characteristics?
A
- talents
- temperaments
- interests
9
Q
Why is the sexual dimorphism of the brain so important to mental illness research?
A
drug research and development
10
Q
Why was research mostly done on male rodents?
A
the estrous cycle of the female modifies behavior
11
Q
What is the definition of sex?
A
what is determined at birth by the presence of particular sex chromosomes, hormones and organs
12
Q
What is the definition of gender?
A
- range of characteristics that pertain to masculinity and femininity
- associated with the sexes
- characteristics reflect both biology and culture
13
Q
What determines the characteristics of gender?
A
- biology
- culture
14
Q
What is gender expression?
A
expression of masculinity and femininity
15
Q
What is a gender role?
A
behaviors and attitudes deemed typical/appropriate/desirable for people of a given sex
16
Q
What is the definition of sexual behavior?
A
actual sex act performed by individuals
17
Q
What is the definition of sexual orientation?
A
ine’s enduring romantic/sexual attractions
18
Q
What is sexual identity?
A
an individual’s conception of themselves in terms of whether they identidy or not with a sexual orientation
19
Q
What is the definiciton of gender identity?
A
one’s personal sense of their gender
20
Q
What influences the development of the brain?
A
biology and culture
21
Q
How is the definition of gender types generally constructed? what influences it?
A
- differs across time and culture
- socially constructed from shared experiences
- small influence of biology
22
Q
What determines the strength of the influence of biological differences?
A
the culture!
23
Q
In what type of cultures are biological differences the most influential?
A
- everyone is treated the same
- gender is not taught
24
Q
Why do we affirm that there is evidence of sexual dimorphism in the brain, if the influence of culture is so great?
A
evidence of brain sexual dimorphism in non cultural animals
25
In species with sexes, how is this relevant to reproduction?
- involves some sort of intercourse
- involves the fusion of gametes
- involves a member of each sex
26
What are gametes?
Mature reproductive cells
27
What are gonads?
the sexual organs that produce gametes
28
Where are gametes produced?
in the gonads
29
What are the different types of gametes?
- ova
- sperm
30
What are the different gonads?
- testes
- ovaries
31
What is particular about the genome of gametes?
the only contain one copy of each chromosome
32
What are the five factors present at brith used to determine an animal's biological sex?
- sex chromosomes
- gonads
- sex hormones
- internal reproductive anatomy
- external anatomy
33
What determines which gonads you have?
a signaling cascade initiated by the DNA in the sex chromosomes
34
What are the three categories of sex organ?
- gonads
- internal reproductive anatomy
- external anatomy
35
What happens when not all of the sex determinants are of the same type?
intersex conditions (impossible to determine if male or female)
36
What are the embryonic sex organs?
- precursors for sex organs
- undifferentiated gonads
- mullerian system
- wollfian system
37
What is the Mullerian system?
embryonic precursor of female internal sex organs
38
What is the Wollfian system?
embryonic precursors of male internal sex organs
39
When do the gonads differentiate?
second month of gestation
40
When are the internal sexual organs developed from one of the systems?
thrid month of gestation
41
What are androgens?
male sex hormones
42
What is the main mammalian androgen?
testosterone
43
What releases testosterone?
testes
44
What is the defeminizing effect?
- effect of anti-mullerian hormone
- prevents development of female-typical internal anatomy
45
What is the masculinizing effect?
- effect of androgen hormones early in development
- triggers development of male-typical anatomy
46
What causes the undifferentiated fetal gonads to develop into testes?
- the protein encoded by the SRY gene on the Y chromosome
47
what are the effects of the development of testes?
initiates release of anti-mullerian hormone and androgens
48
What are the effects of the anti-mullerian hormone?
stops developemtn of mullerian system
49
What re the effects of androgens on the development of sexual organs?
truggers development of male sexual organs (internal and external)
50
What are the necessary conditions for the gonads to become testes?
THERE IS ONLY ONE: THE PRESENCE OF A Y CHROMOSOME
51
What is the condition for the development of ovaries?
the presence of two x chromosomesW
52
What triggers puberty in females?
hormone release from the gonads
53
what happens in the absence of anti-mullerian signaling?
mullerian system develops into internal female reproductive anatomy
54
What happens in the absence of testosterone?
wollfian system whitehers away
external female sexual organs develop
55
What causes the development of female anatomy?
the absence of testosterone and anti-mullerian hormone
56
What are the two types of effects of sex hormones?
- organizational effects
- activational effects
57
What are organizational effects?
the sex hormones's influence on the development of the body and brain
58
What are the two types of organizational effects?
- behavioral defeminization
- behavioral masculinization
59
What is behavioral defeminzation?
organizational effect of androgens on the brain that prevent anumals from displaying female-typical behaviors in adulthood
60
What is behavioral masculinization?
Organizational effect of androgens on the brain that enables male-typical behavior in adutlhood
61
What are activational effects of sex hormones?
sexual behaviors and caracteristics developed at puberty
62
Wht causes activational effects?
the release of sex hormones at puberty
63
What determines what the activational effects will be?
the organizational in-utero effects (gonads)
64
What is the chain of reaction and hormones in the hormonal control of puberty?
kisspeptin is released in the hypothalamus, which stimmulates the release of gonadotrophin releasing hormones in the hypothalamus, which stimulates the secretion os gonadotropic hormones in the pituitary gland, which stimulates the gonads to produce the appropriate hormones that will have the activational effects
65
What is Turner Syndrome?
only one sex chromosome (X0)
66
What are the effects of Turner Syndrome?
- no gonad development
- normal development of female-typical sex organs
- infertility
- no puberty
67
What happens if there are more than one X chromosomes as well as a functional SRY gene?
- typical male development patterns
- infertility
68
What is Swyer syndrome?
- XY chromosomes
- bad SRY gene
69
What are the effects of swyer syndrome?
- normal female sex organs
- no puberty
- no gonads
70
What is the insufficient anti-Mullerian syndrome?
- occurs when a person has a healthy XY chromosome, but has an insufficient production of anti-Mullerian hormone
71
What are the effects of the insufficient anti-Mullerian syndrome?
- insufficient defeminization, but sufficient masculinization
- development of both male and female sexual organs (the female sexual organs will be non-functionnal)
72
What causes androgen insensitivity syndrome?
insufficient androgen production
73
What are the effects of androgen insensitivity syndrome?
- anatomical defiminization
- partial or no masculinization
74
What occurs in severe cases of androgen insensitivity syndrome?
- no internal sex organs
- normal external female genitalia with a short vagina
75
What occurs in mild cases of androgen insensitivity syndrome?
- full masculinization of external genitalia
- no internal sex organs
76
Where is Kisspeptin produced?
Hypothalamus
77
What is the purpose of kisspeptin?
- initiation of puberty
- maintain of reproductive abilities
78
What is the purpose of the gonadotropin releashing hormone?
- stimulate the anterior pituitary gland
- initiate secretion of gonadotropic hormones
79
What is the purpose of gonadotropic hormones?
- Stimulate the cells of gonads
80
What are the gonadotropic hormones?
- FSH
- LH
81
What is necessary for male sexual behaviors to be present?
sufficient testosterone signaling
82
What is testosterone necessary for?
- male ability to have sex
- sperm release
- presence of sexual interest
83
What is the effect of gonadotropic hormones?
They push the gonads to secrete either testosterone or estradiol
84
What happens if a male takes a gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist?
- no testicular release of androgens
- decrese in sexual interests and intercourse
85
What is the principal estrogen of mammals?
Estradiol
86
What are estrogens?
- sex hormones released by the ovaries
87
What are the effects of estrogens?
- maturation of the physical features and characteristics of females
88
What controls the menstrual/estrous cycle?
the two ovarian hormones
89
What are the two ovarian hormones?
- estradiol
- progesterone
90
What is the main difference between a menstrual and estrous cycle?
The estrous cycle includes important changes in behavior, whilst menstrual cycles do not. Animals with estrous cycles only mate when they are in heat, but animals with menstrual cycles mate when they like.
91
What are the main characteristics of a menstrual cycle?
- menstruation
- concealed ovulation
- absence of a mating season
92
What type of animals have a menstrual cycle?
primates
93
What are the main caracteristics of estrous cycles?
- no menstruation
- outward signs of ovulation and. fertility
- will only be sexually active during the estrous phase of the cycle
94
What is particular about the organizational effects of hormones on the brain in rodents?
continue for a few weeks after birth
95
What is congenital adrenal hyperplasia?
- excess production of androgen in individuals with XX chromosomes and ovaries
96
What are the results of congenital adrenal hyperplasia?
- female internal organs BUT in severe cases male internal organs as well
- masculinized external genitalia
- masculinization of the brain
97
What are the conditions for the apparition of female sexual behavior?
1) no testosterone during development
2) progesterone and estradiol during development
98
What are the conditions for the apparition of male sexual behaviors?
1) testosterone during development
2) testosterone during adulthood
99
What are the effects of congenital adrenal hyperplasia on sexual and gender identity?
- women are more likely to identify as a man and to be attracted to women
100
What are the possible determinants of sexual orientation and gender identity?
- timing and effectiveness of androgen signaling in the brain
101
What part of the brain seems to be very invested in sexual dimorphic behaviors?
medial amygdala
102
Where does the input from the olfatory bulb and Vomeronasal organ enter the brain?
medial amygdala
103
What part of the brain is linked to female sexual behaviors?
ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus
104
What is the effect of injections of estradiol and progesterone directly in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus?
stimulates female sexual behavior
105
What area of the brain contains the sexually dimorphic nucleus? How is it dimorphic?
- medial preoptic area
- much bigger in males
106
What part of the brain receives tactile information from the genitalia?
medulla
107
What are the steps of male sexual behavior-inducing neural circuitry?
1) input from olfactory bulb and vomeronasal organ
2) medial amygdala
3) medial preoptic area
4) periaqueductal gray matter
5) nucleus paragigantocellularis
6) motor neuron
7) mating behavior
108
What region of the brain is linked to male sexual dimorphic behavior?
medulla
109
What is the only difference between male sexual circuitry and female sexual circuitry in the brain?
After the medial amygdala, there is processing of the information in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus in females, but in males this is in the medial preoptic area
110
What are the steps of female sexual behavior inducing neural circuitry?
1) input from olfactory bulb and vomeronasal organ
2) medial amygdala
3) ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus
4) periaqueductal gray matter
5) nucleus paragigantocellularis
6) motor neuron
7) mating behavior
111
What molecules seem to relate to long term pair bonds?
- vasopressin
- oxytocin
112
What brain region is associated with both long term pair bonds and addiction?
nucleus accumbens
