ANT211H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Sex Steroid, Autonomic Nervous System, Sexual Differentiation
Document Summary
Interaction between: cognitive information processing, central brain mechanisms, peripheral physiological processes. Females: lordosis: under the inluence of gonadal hormones, has organizing and activating function. Males: castrated at 1 day old no copulation, castrated after 1 week will copulate with testosterone in adulthood. Given organizing and activating shots of testosterone lose capacity for lordosis; will exhibit male copulatory behaviour. Early testosterone inluences neural organization underlying male copulation. 9-10 years old (shortly before puberty: masturbation starts, maximum capacity for sexual arousal & response. Females (estrogen: less clear relationship between sex interest and hormones, variable masturbation. Testosterone: efects on sex drive: decrease testosterone, decrease sex drive, elimination of sex behavior e. g. male castration. Certain regions of the brain have been found to be sexually dimorphic and diferentially sensitive to steroids. Females more emotionally expressive & in receptive to emotional verbal nuance. Limbic septal nuclei focused & direct contact seeking. Mris on men & women when recalling emotionally charged images.
