Behavioural

Neuroscience (Psy2042)

Lecture Five (23 April)

rd

J.Jackson@leedstrinity.ac.uk
Fluid Balance
 Intracellular Fluid (67%)
 Extracellular Fluid

 Interstitial fluid (26%)

 Blood plasma (7%)

 Cerebrospinal fluid (~1%)

Two types of Thirst
 Loss of intracellular water
 Osmometric Thirst

 Loss of blood plasma

 Volumetric Thirst
Lamina Terminalis

Anterior Cingulate
Empty Stomach?
 Stomach releases the hormone
Ghrelin (GH Releasin)
 When stomach full, the release

of Ghrelin is suppressed
Reproductive Behaviour
XX: Female
XY: Male

X
Y
Lecture Aims
 Sexual Development
 Hormones (Menstruation)

 Male/Female Behaviour

 Sexual Orientation
Reproduction
 Pretty vital…(!)
 Human beings are “sexually

dimorphic” (two forms)

 Men

 Women
 Fertilisation
Female: X
Male: X or Y
Sex Organs (Gonads)
 Until 6th week, male and female
foetuses are identical
 Gonads become ovaries

unless otherwise instructed to

become testes
Male or female?
 Hormones being secreted
 These have an organisational

effect on gonads and the brain

Masculinisation?
 Müllerian System (female)
 Wolffian System (male)
Müllerian System
Wolffian System
Masculinisation?
 Determined by presence or
absence of testes hormones
 1] Anti-Müllerian hormone

 2] Androgens

Sexual Maturation
 Secondary sexual characteristics
are not present at birth:
Puberty
 Hypothalamus
 Gonadotropin-releasing

hormones (GnRH)
 Pituitary Gland

 Gonadotropic hormones
 Gonadotropic Hormones
Follicle-Stimulating Luteinising Hormone
Hormone (FSH) (LH)
 Harris and Jacobson (1951, 1952)
 They swapped pituitary glands

between male and female rats

Hormones & Behaviour
 Having the physique of a man
or a woman affects behaviour
 But hormones do more than

give us a particular body

Menstrual Cycle
 (Estrous cycle in other animals)
 Female rats in estrus act

differently (due to hormones)

 Males act differently near her
Remember Leptin?
Exercise can affect female reproduction
Bale et al. (1996)
Female Preferences
 More at risk with bad decisions
 Millions of sperm

 400 viable eggs

 Trials of pregnancy and

childrearing are arduous

Male Preferences
 Health and Youth (Buss, 1994)
 Physical Appearance

 Behaviour

Computer-generated (Smith, 2005)
Male Behaviour
 Intromission (entry)
 Pelvic Thrusting

 Ejaculation

 Refractory period
Male Aggression
 Adult males fight for territory
and access to females
 Androgen (e.g. Testosterone)

 Occurs prenatally

 Again at puberty
Male Aggression
 92% of car horn “tooting” is
done by men
 96% of burglaries

 88% of murders

 90% prison population male

Shuster (2007)
“Stereotypical
and predictable”
responses
Alexander & Hines (2002)
Young Vervet Monkeys
Female Aggression
 Adults females meeting in
neutral territory won’t fight
 Testosterone still important
 0M
0M
Sexual Orientation
 Some believe it is determined
by childhood experiences
 Bell, Weinberg & Hammersmith

(1981) found no evidence of:

A biological cause?
 No variation in sex hormones
 Subtle differences in the brain?
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
 Too many androgens in system
 Boys develop normally

 Girls may suffer masculination

 Females with CAH more likely to

be attracted to other woman

Toy Preferences
 Boys prefer active toys; girls prefer
nurturance (Alexander, 2003)
 Note: caregivers and peers may

encourage certain types of toy

 Even at day one, boys prefer

moving mobiles; girls prefer human

faces (Connellan et al., 2001)
What’s happening?
 Androgens may be affecting
development of the brain
 The women involved are

“masculinised”, though still able

to produce and bear children
Androgenisation
 In males, pre-natal hormones:
 Defeminise and Masculinise

 Failure of androgenisation?
The Human brain
 Male and Female versions:
 Corpus Callosum

 Male brain is larger

 (Certain other regions)

Autopsy (LeVay, 1991)
 Martin & Nguyen (2004)
Bars show Means

0.800
Arms/stature ratio

Arms/Legs
Ratio
0.790

0.780
0 1 2 3 4 5
Hetero Homo Homo Hetero
Ward (1972)
 Maternal stress in rats:
 Confined pregnant mothers
 Exposure to bright light

 Suppressed androgen production

Orientation
 1] Prenatal hormone exposure
 2] Heredity

 Affect sexual orientation?

Reading (this week)
 Carlson (9e)
 Pages 328-349 (Ch 10)

 Pinel (7e)

 Pages 320-346 (Ch 13)

Reading (next time)
 Carlson (9e)
 Pages 362-393 (Ch 11)

 Pinel (7e)

 Pages 431-443 (Ch 17)

 Pages 450 - 454 (Ch 17)