Lecture Notes
Chapter 7: The Biology of Sex and Gender
Chapter Summary
Chapter 7 starts out by describing how sex is similar to other biological drives as a form of
motivation and follows with a discussion of the effects of hormones on brain structures and
development. In many organisms, the sense of smell has a particularly important role in sexual
attraction and performance. An Application section discusses the role of oxytocin in establishing
pair bonding. The chapter then discusses how males and females differ due to the genetic and
hormonal influences throughout development. Gender-related behavioral and cognitive
differences are then discussed, in which male and female performance differs on specific tasks
and forms of learning. An In The News segment highlights the GTEx project. The chapter then
discusses how deviations in the sexual development process (such as congenital adrenal
hyperplasia and androgen insensitivity) affect the body, brain and behavior. Included here is an
Application section discussing the issue of sex, gender and sports along with an Application
section highlighting the controversial issue of assigning a child’s sex in ambiguous situations.
Finally, the chapter finishes with a discussion of the environmental and genetic factors that
influence sexual orientation.
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Chapter Outline and Key Terms
I. Sex as a Form of Motivation
a. Similar to hunger and thirst drives, but failure to satisfy drive does not lead to
death.
b. Arousal and satiation
i. Sexual response cycle includes excitement, increasing to plateau,
peaking during orgasm, and declining during the resolution phase.
ii. Afterward, males typically cannot engage in sex for some time, called
refractory phase.
iii. Coolidge effect – Quick male return to sexual arousal when a new
partner is introduced.
c. Role of testosterone
i. Sexual behavior usually a result of sexual hormones.
ii. Castration, removal of the gonads, is a technique to find role of
sexual hormones by removing their sources.
1. Androgens are responsible for male characteristics and functions.
2. Testosterone is the major male sex hormone.
iii. Estrus is the period when females ovulate, sex hormones are high, and
animal is said to be in heat.
1. Estrogen is a class of hormones responsible for female
characteristics and functions.
2. In human females, estrogen peaks 14 days before monthly
menstruation; peak is correlated with female-initiated sexual
activity.
d. Brain structures and neurotransmitters implicated in sexual activity
i. Medial preoptic area (MPOA) of hypothalamus involved in male
and female sexual behavior.
ii. Medial amygdala contributes to sexual behavior in both sexes, as well
as being involved in aggression and emotion.
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iii. Sexually-dimorphic nucleus (SDN) – A region of the MPOA is five
times larger in males and is involved in male sexual performance.
iv. Ventromedial hypothalamus (vmH) is important for female sexual
behavior.
v. During Coolidge effect, dopamine increases.
vi. During ejaculation, serotonin levels increase in the lateral
hypothalamus.
vii. Oxytocin, a neuropeptide, facilitates bonding and milk ejection in
animals. Also released during sexual activity.
e. Odors, pheromones, and sexual attraction
i. Nose as a sex organ
1. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a group of genes
that contributes to immune system functioning, and affect odors
that are avoided in related individuals.
2. Pheremones are bioactive chemicals released by individual that
change the behavior or physiology of others.
3. The vomeronasal organ (VNO), a cluster of receptors in the nasal
cavity, detects pheromones.
4. Role of pheromones in human sexuality is somewhat controversial.
II. The Biological Determination of Sex
a. Terminology
i. Sex is the set of characteristics that separate organisms into male and
female.
ii. Gender is the set of behavioral characteristics that correspond to sex.
iii. Gender role is the societal expectations for a given sex.
iv. Gender identity is the subjective feeling of belonging to a particular
sex.
b. Chromosomes and hormones
i. As discussed in Chapter 1, the 23rd pair of chromosomes is called the
sex chromosomes.
ii. Gonads are the primary reproductive organs.
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1. The female ovaries are where the eggs (ova) develop.
2. The male testes produce sperm.
3. Presence of Y chromosome, and therefore SRY protein, creates
Müllerian inhibiting hormone that defeminizes the fetus and
causes the Müllerian ducts to degenerate.
4. Presence of dihydrotestosterone, a derivative of testosterone,
masculinizes the external genitals.
5. A human with a Y chromosome will become male; in the absence
of the Y chromosome the individual becomes female.
iii. Sex hormones can have two types of effects:
1. Organizing effects occur during sensitive periods of development
(usually before birth), affecting structures permanently.
2. Activating effects can occur at any time, and can fluctuate, but are
reversible if the hormone is removed.
c. Prenatal hormones and the brain
i. Characteristics and behaviors can be considered to be male-typical or
female-typical, but the differences are not absolute.
ii. Lordosis is the term for mounting behaviors, usually exhibited by
males but sometimes females.
iii. Increasing testosterone increases these male-typical behaviors,
“sexualizing” behavior and the brain. However, final masculinization
requires that the testosterone be converted to estradiol by means of
aromatization.
iv. Sexualization of the brain is reflected in behavioral differences in play,
sexual activity, spatial behaviors, and learning.
III. Gender-Related Behavioral and Cognitive Differences
a. Some demonstrated male–female differences
i. Girls have greater verbal ability.
ii. Boys are better at visual-spatial tasks.
iii. Boys better at mathematical tasks.
iv. Boys tend to be more aggressive.
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b. Origins of male-female differences
i. Environmental differences – Cultural differences in math ability and
violence.
ii. Low testosterone results in decreased male differences.
iii. Some differences are correlated with differences in brain anatomy and
organization.
IV. Biological Origins of Gender Identity – When Chromosomes and Sex Differ
a. Gender dysphoria – Distress experienced due to perception that one’s sex does
not match their gender.
i. Best outcomes when hormonal and surgical therapy used over
psychotherapy.
ii. INAH3 (third interstitial nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus) –
Larger in men than women; different in transsexual individuals
compared to heterosexual counterparts.
b. 46 XY difference in sexual development (46 XY DSD) – Individual with
atypical sexual development based on XY chromosomes.
i. Reduced dihydrotestosterone due to various enzyme deficiencies
results in feminized genitals at birth, with masculinization at puberty.
ii. Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) is a genetic mutation that
results in the absence of androgen receptors, with feminine appearance
and external genitalia.
c. 46 XX difference in sexual development (46 XX DSD)
i. Some maternal hormone treatments and genetic problems with
enzymes result in partial genital masculinization.
1. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an enzyme defect in
which the adrenal glands produce too much androgen,
masculinizing the body.
2. New pre-natal treatment with corticosteroids can reduce CAH
effects.
ii. Whether these individuals’ participation in sports should be based on
chromosomal or genital sex is controversial.
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d. Cognitive and behavioral effects
i. Prenatal development varies as a result of hormones.
ii. Individuals with sex anomalies develop behavioral traits of opposite
sex.
iii. Some debate about environmental versus genetic determinants of sex-
related traits.
e. Ablatio penis: A natural experiment
i. Neutral at birth vs. sexuality at birth hypotheses.
ii. David Reimer lost his penis due to circumcision gone wrong (2 other
cases as well).
iii. Raised as girl due to “neutral-at-birth” hypothesis of sexual
development. Was given female hormones and surgical alteration to
appear as female.
iv. Eventually switched gender to male, supporting sexuality at birth
hypothesis.
V. Sexual Orientation
a. Incidence
i. About 3.5% of US population, hard to estimate due to social stigma.
ii. Approximately 8% of population have engaged in same-sex relations;
11% report same-sex attraction.
iii. 1% of individuals express no interest in sex at all (asexuality).
b. Social influence hypothesis
i. Study by Bell et al. (1981) found no evidence that homosexuality is
environmentally caused.
ii. Homosexuals typically report feeling “different” early in life.
iii. Homosexuals have a high rate of gender-atypical behavior, or gender
nonconformity, during development.
c. Genetic and epigenetic influences
i. 2–7 times more likely if one twin is homosexual that the other one is
as well, with concordances between 18% and 37%.
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ii. Possible “gay genes” have been identified, with at least one on the X
chromosome and one on chromosome 7.
iii. Homosexuality may be a by-product of higher female fertility, and that
the genes responsible also play a role in increasing attractiveness in
individuals.
iv. Correlation between women who turn off the same X-chromosome in
each cell, called epigenetic imprinting, and homosexual children.
d. Prenatal influences on brain structure and function
i. Most likely that homosexual orientation established prenatally.
ii. Administering sex hormones in adults does not change sexual
orientation.
iii. Many species of animals have a sub-population of homosexual
individuals.
iv. Homosexual individuals exhibit behaviors indicative of the opposite
gender (verbal and spatial capabilities), as well as brain responses to
sex-specific hormones (AND, EST).
v. Some studies have found the third interstitial nucleus of the anterior
hypothalamus (INAH3) to be smaller in gay men than in heterosexual
men.
vi. Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is also larger in gay men and
secretes more vasopressin
vii. May be due to high levels of prenatal androgen exposure: homosexual
women have weaker evoked otoacoustic emissions and smaller index
to ring finger length ratios.
e. Social implications of the biological model
i. Protection for minorities depends on unalterable or inborn
characteristics, which are not a result of experience or choice.
ii. Majority of homosexuals believe homosexuality is a prenatal condition
(“born that way”).
iii. Belief in biological basis appears to increase public acceptance.
