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Sex and the Brain

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Sexual identity which sex you feel you are, independent of biology. ... Many other sex differences have been claimed in the literature but these do not hold up well. ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Sex and the Brain


1
Sex and the Brain
2
Sex is Complex
  • Sex a persons genetic biological
    characteristics
  • Male, female, a continuum between the two
  • Sexual orientation who you are attracted to
  • Opposite sex
  • Same sex
  • Both, neither
  • Gender social roles assigned by biological sex.
  • Sexual identity which sex you feel you are,
    independent of biology.
  • Transsexuals, transvestites

3
Sexual Behavior
  • Phases of sexual response are the same across
    species.
  • Behavior results from many circuits, including
    hypothalamic activation, environmental inputs,
    hormones.
  • The cortex decides what is and is not sexually
    stimulating.
  • Sexual scripts learned ways of responding in
    sexual situations.

4
Human Sexual Response
5
Sexual Dimorphisms
  • Male and female brains differ because male and
    female bodies differ.
  • The most distinct dimorphisms are related to
    reproductive behaviors.
  • Many other sex differences have been claimed in
    the literature but these do not hold up well.
  • Few cognitive differences exist in behavior once
    the impact of culture/socialization is controlled.

6
Sex Differences Claimed
  • Women are better at verbal tasks false.
  • Men are better at spatial tasks and math
    largely false.
  • Women are more emotional, men are less emotional
    false, except for expressivity.
  • Women talk more than men false.
  • Men are more aggressive and more violent true.

7
Impact of Testosterone
  • Testosterone is not responsible for the
    masculinization of the male brain.
  • Estrogen, binding to estradiol sites, results in
    masculinization of a developing fetus.
  • Females do not produce surges of estrogen early
    in development and so miss this stage.
  • Testosterone organizes masculinization early on
    and is needed again to trigger puberty.

8
Male vs Female
  • Because hormones trigger masculinization, it is
    possible to have male females (genetically XX)
    and female males (genetically XY).
  • Genetic males with a defective androgen receptor
    will develop as female.
  • Genetic females with congenital adrenal
    hyperplasia (CAH) have unusually large amounts of
    circulating androgens.

9
Homosexuality
  • Defined as sexual attraction to members of the
    same sex.
  • Large-scale studies show that neither early
    childhood experiences nor learning accounts for
    homsexuality.
  • Postmortem studies suggest the SCN of the
    hypothalamus may be responsible.
  • Hamers studies suggest a genetic basis.
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