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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

maternal adrenalectomy, sexual behavior, male rat offspring, mammalian brain, gender differences

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Anthropology

Abstract

It has been shown that several structures in the mammalian brain exhibit differences between males and females. These variations are referred to as sexually dimorphic areas. In recent years, study of the brain has demonstrated the complex interconnections between the sexual behavior of individuals and the neurological functions of the brain. It is now considered appropriate to refer to the brain as a part of the reproductive system in reference to the determining factor it plays in development of the sexual organs and in regulating the behavior of the organism. The mammalian fetus originally possesses the potential to become either male or female in terms of the internal sexual organs. Specialization occurs through the activity of hormones such as testosterone, which causes the male (or Wolffian) reproductive system to grow in the place of the female (or Müllerian) system. The gender orientation of the brain parallels this process, to the extent that the presence or absence of specific hormones during a critical period of time the determines the sexual condition of the brain, and ultimately, the sexual behavior of the organism.

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