9 Sex and Hormones

C.V. is a 3-month-old boy with severe constipation since birth. He cannot hold his head up, and he does not smile. His head is small (microcephaly). His tongue is too large, and sticks out of his mouth

His temp in the nursery at birth was 96.1

Hormone deficiency

Microcephaly - neurogenesis plays a role

Differences between neurons and hormones

hormones - gradual

hormones - pulsatile secretion (in bursts)

some hormones - controlled by circadian clocks

Where is the pituitary gland?

beneath the hypothalamus

What are releasing hormones, and where are they from?

From hypothalamus, control pituitary release of tropic hormones

Why don’t they play poker in Africa?

There’s too many cheetahs

What are tropic hormones? Where are they from?

From pituitary, affect other endocrine glands

Diagram of thyroid feedback loop. What kind of feedback loop is this?

Negative

Diagram of estrogen feedback loop. What kind of feedback loop is this?

positive

What are the hormones of the posterior pituitary? What are their functions?

Vasopressin (ADH)

• Raises BP

• Inhibits urine formation/increases blood volume

• Emotions (especially fear)

Oxytocin

• Maternal behavior/bonding

• Increase bonding in autism?

What is the pathway from the hypothalamus to the anterior pituitary?

Hypothalamic neurons synthesize releasing hormones

Secreted into local blood vessels

float to AP, releases a hormone to body

What are the hormones of the anterior pituitary?

TSH - thyroid-stimulating hormone

MSH - melanotropic

FSH - follicle-stimulating hormone

GH - growth hormone

LH - lutenizing hormone

PRL - prolactin

ACTH - adrenocoriticotropic hormone

TSH → thyroid → thyroid hormone

ACTH → adrenal glands → cortisol

Your mother has a high serum thyroid level from taking too many thyroid pills. Expect her TSH to be:

A. Low

B. High

C. In the middle

A. Low

What is necessary in the diet for thyroid hormone?

Iodine

Thyroid hormone stuff

Iodine

Goiter

Cushing's Disease

Cretinism

What is caused by early thyroid deficiency?

cretinism (mental retardation)

A baby is born with a squint, deaf mutism, and motor spasticity, along with severe mental retardation. The baby sticks its tongue out while its sleeping. What is wrong with the child, and what is this condition caused by?

cretinism (mental retardation)

caused by early thyroid deficiency

If you administer thyroid hormone to someone with cretinism, will it cure them?

no - affects brain development, brain development stage has already passed

A woman’s neck is incredibly swollen. What is this condition called, and what is its cause?

Goiter - swelling of the thyroid gland, from iodine deficiency

caused by iodine deficiency

True or false: endocrine pathology mimics psychiatric disorders

True

What is Cushing’s disease?

Caused by long-term excess glucocorticoids, adrenal glands make too much cortisol

• red in face

• weight gain

causes fatigue, depression, psychosis

What percentage of HS students, coaches, and parents in North Texas use steroids illegally? What can this cause?

25%

may cause Cushing’s disease

True or false: Sexual orientation is in no way influenced by genetics

False

What are some genetic factors that influence homosexuality?

2-7x more likely to be homo if you have homo siblings

the more older brothers a man has, the more likely he’s gay

What is the sexual dimorphic nucleus?

What is it’s role in gender and sexuality?

What does Testosterone do?

INAH3

smaller in females and gay men

Testosterone protects INAH3 from apoptosis

The Anterior Commisure (AC) is __________, and the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) is __________, in ______________ men.

A. smaller, larger, homosexual

B. smaller, smaller, heterosexual

C. larger, larger, homosexual

D. larger, smaller, heterosexual

C. larger, larger, homosexual

How many levels of genders are there? What is the pathway to sex determination?

7

How many genders are there?

2⁷ = 128

Why do people have sex?

Reproduction

DNA shuffling

It’s fun (smh dr miller some of these people are minors)

Castration/Testosterone Therapy diagram

What are the four phases of the sexual response curve?

1. Excitement (Arousal)

2. Plateau

3. Orgasm

4. Resolution (Includes Refractory Phase in males)

How is sex like hunger and thirst?

• It involves arousal and satiation

• It involves hormonal control

• It is controlled by specific areas of the brain

What areas are activated during male orgasm?

Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)

What areas are activated/inhibited during female orgasm?

activated - deep cerebellar nuclei

inhibited - orbitofrontal cortex

What is the medial amygdala involved in?

• sex

• smell

• aggression

• emotions

note: this applies to both sexes

What does the size of the sexually dimorphic nucleus indicate in males?

size correlated with sexual activity

What is the function of the ventromedial hypothalamus in females?

responsible for receptivity to male advances

How is sex different from hunger and thirst?

• It is not a homeostatic tissue need

• Individuals don’t require sex for survival (species do)

What happens to estrogen right before ovulation?

Estrogen rises, promotes non-human sexual behavior

What is it called when females are sexually receptive?

estrus

Do human women have estrus?

No, but they’re more likely to initiate sex at ovulation

What are the neurotransmitters involved with sex, and that are their function?

Dopamine (green light)

• Drugs that increase DA activity increase sexual activity

• Increasing levels of DA in men - erection, then ejaculation

Serotonin (red light)

• Both men and women complain SSRIs impair their sexual ability

What does alcohol do to sex, as stated by Macbeth? (probably not going to be on the exam)

It provokes the desire but it takes away the performance. Therefore much drink may be said to be an equivocator with lechery: it makes him and it mars him; it sets him on and it takes him off.

How is sex determined?

SRY gene (sex-determining region on Y chromosome) causes development of testes

W/o SRY gene, ovary forms

What is testosterone?

Main organizing hormone of human brain

What are organizing effects, and when do they occur? Give an example

Affect brain and body structure (genitals) and are lifelong

Occur prenatally/shortly after birth

ex: primary sex characteristics

What are activating effects, and when do they occur? Give an example

Come/go with hormone levels; stable, but are reversible (muscle mass)

occur at any time in life

ex: Muscle mass

What are differences between the brains of women and the brains of men?

Women

• Women have larger corpus callosum

  • size of corpus callosum correlates with larger cognitive skills

• Women have more neurons in:

  • Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (think before you act)

  • Superior temporal gyrus (talking/listening)

• Women are better at multi-tasking

• Women are better connected left-to-right

Men

• Males have greater asymmetry

  • Right hemisphere is thicker

• Men are better at concentrating at one task

• Men are better connected front-to-back

What are some of the girl-boy differencies that are certain?

• Most girls have greater verbal ability than most boys

• Most boys excel in visual-spatial ability

• Most boys are more physically aggressive than girls

• More boys are great at math than girls; but overall ability is same

True or false: the skills between men and women mostly overlap

True - You can focus on the small difference or the overall similarity

What does estrogen do to spatial ability?

impairs it

What is high estrogen level associated with?

depressed spatial ability

enhanced speech and manual skill tasks

What does testosterone do in the 2nd trimester?

increases cerebral asymmetry - accelerates growth of right hemisphere

Why does less testosterone make men have more sex, and more testosterone make men have less sex?

Testosterone act as impulse control - ensures successful sex

How does cognition change in:

• androgenized girls

• males low in early testosterone

• FTM transgenders on T

• androgenized girls

  • Spatial abilities are enhanced

• males low in early testosterone

  • impaired spatial ability

• FTM transgenders on T

  • spatial improvement

  • loss of verbal fluency

brain boxes lol

Men’s brain is full of boxes, boxes never touch - they discuss only what is in the relavent box

Women’s brains are made of wire - everything is connected, driven by emotion, women remember everything

Girls:

• Talking

• Conversation Style

• Conversation Content

• Touching

• Power Words

• Badges of friendship

• Crying

• Process feelings

• Risky behavior

• Sexual arousal

• Teasing

• Discipline

• Reading

(just keep repeating this over and over again, you’ll get it!! ik it’s a lot but there was a question on this on my test and there likely will be a question on this on yours)

• Talking

  • A lot

• Conversation Style

  • Face-to-face

• Conversation Content

  • Relationships

• Touching

  • Nurturing

• Power Words

  • Loveable, loved

• Badges of friendship

  • Shared confidences

• Crying

  • Release, signal for support

• Process feelings

  • Cortex, more complex, with language

• Risky behavior

  • Scary, stupid, lowers status among girls

• Sexual arousal

  • Cortex dominates

• Teasing

  • Considered veiled threat

• Discipline

  • Affiliative, “how would you feel?”

• Reading

  • Fiction, relationships

Boys:

• Talking

• Conversation Style

• Conversation Content

• Touching

• Power Words

• Badges of friendship

• Crying

• Process feelings

• Risky behavior

• Sexual arousal

• Teasing

• Discipline

• Reading

(just keep repeating this over and over again, you’ll get it!! ik it’s a lot but there was a question on this on my test and there likely will be a question on this on yours)

• Talking

  • Minimal

• Conversation Style

  • Shoulder-to-shoulder

• Conversation Content

  • Objects, activities

• Touching

  • Rough

• Power Words

  • Fair, loyal, honorable, respect

• Badges of friendship

  • Shared activities

• Crying

  • Weakness, humiliating

• Process feelings

  • Limbic system, less complex

• Risky behavior

  • Fun, increased status, “risky shift”

• Sexual arousal

  • Limbic system dominates

• Teasing

  • Playful way to connect

• Discipline

  • Clear rules, consequences

• Reading

  • Facts, real stuff, action

Practice Question - Which gene drives the development of testes?

SRY Gene

Practice Question - What is the main difference between male and female sexual response curves?

Males have a refractory phase, which creates a delay between orgasm, whereas females do not have a refractory phase

Practice Question - How many levels of sex determination are there?

Seven:

1. Chromosomal Sex

2. Gonadal Sex

3. Internal Sex Organs

4. External Sex Organs

5. Brain Sex

6. Gender Identity

7. Gender Preference

Practice Question - Testosterone during second trimester increases cerebral asymmetry via accelerated growth of which hemisphere?

Right hemisphere

Practice Question - Women have greater gray matter in which 2 areas of the brain?

1. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

2. Superior temporal gyrus

Practice Question - What brain region is smaller in homosexual men than in heterosexual men?

INAH3 (aka Sexual Dimorphic Nucleus)

Practice Question - Which brain region is the site of primary activation during orgasm?

VTA - dopamine pathway