CHAPTER 13 | SEX & HORMONES

PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY | PSY 2102-2 | BS Psychology 2-2 | Prof. Katrina B. Campos

GROUP 9_ANDRES, BONOAN, ENRIQUEZ, NARRA

- Sex chromosomes: contain genetic

SEX & HORMONES programs that direct sexual
development.
TOPIC OUTLINES
● Neuroendocrine System - The sex of a person is determined by
● Hormones and Sexual Development which of their father's sperm cells
of the Body won the dash to their mother's ovum.
● Sexual Development of Brain and If a sperm cell with an X sex
Behavior chromosome wins, they are a
● Three Cases of Exceptional Human female, and if one with a Y sex
Sexual Development chromosome wins, they are a male.
● Effects of Gonadal Hormones on
Adults - X chromosomes are X-shaped,
● Brain Mechanisms of Sexual while Y chromosomes are
Behavior Y-shaped. Early investigators failed
● Sexual Orientation and Gender to discern one small arm of the Y
Identity chromosome, leading to the
NEUROENDOCRINE SYSTEM discovery that smaller
Y-chromosome genes control the
There are two types of glands: exocrine and synthesis of only 66 proteins in
endocrine. humans.

- Vertebrate hormones are classified

into three classes: amino acid
derivatives, peptides and proteins,
and steroids.

- Steroid hormones-
synthesized from cholesterol,
influence sexual development
and adult behavior. Testes
and ovaries release
androgens and estrogens.

- Amino acid derivative-

hormones are synthesized
- Exocrine glands release chemicals from amino acids
into ducts.
- Peptide and protein-
- Endocrine glands release hormones are chains of
hormones directly into the circulatory amino acids
system. Hormones, like those found
in sweat glands, travel through the
body's circulatory system to their
targets, such as other endocrine
glands or nervous system sites.

- Gonads: these are the male testes

and female ovaries that play a crucial
role in hormone production and
sexual development.

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 ● controls the pituitary through two
mechanisms:
○ one for the posterior pituitary and
one for the anterior pituitary.
● The posterior pituitary produces hormones
like vasopressin and oxytocin, which
influence stress-coping and social
responses.
● The hypothalamus controls the release of
hormones from the neuron-free anterior
THE PITUITARY
pituitary.
The pituitary gland, also known as
the master gland, produces primarily
tropic hormones that influence
hormone release from other glands.
The posterior pituitary develops from
hypothalamic tissue, while the
anterior pituitary forms into the
mouth's roof and pinches off, making
it the master gland.

● Gonadotropin, a pituitary
tropic hormone, stimulates
gonadal hormone release.

DISCOVERY OF HYPOTHALAMIC
RELEASING HORMONES

● The release of anterior pituitary

CONTROL OF PITUITARY
The nervous system regulates the
anterior pituitary in birds and animals
during breeding seasons, triggered
by seasonal changes in light-dark
cycles. The hypothalamus, the
structure from which the pituitary is
suspended, regulates this, but its
function remains a mystery.
CONTROL OF THE ANTERIOR AND
POSTERIOR PITUITARY BY THE
HYPOTHALAMUS
hormones is controlled by various
hypothalamic hormones, with each
stimulating and inhibiting the
release. In the 1960s, Guillemin and
Schally isolated thyrotropin-releasing
hormone, which triggers thyrotropin
release from the hypothalamus,
leading to the isolation of other
releasing and release-inhibiting
hormones. All
hypothalamic-releasing hormones
are peptides.

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 results in
minute-to-minute
fluctuations in
circulating hormone
levels.

SUMMARY OF MODAL GONADAL

ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

Figure 13.5 shows the brain's

regulation of gonadal hormones, with
the hypothalamus releasing
hormones, the pituitary stimulating it,
and gonads releasing androgens,
estrogens, and progestins.

REGULATION OF HORMONE LEVELS

● Hormone release is
regulated by three types of
signals: nervous system
signals, circulating hormones,
and circulating nonhormonal
chemicals.

○ Endocrine glands,
except the anterior
pituitary, are directly
regulated by the
nervous system, with
brain-based signals
like pituitary and
pineal glands.

○ The autonomic
nervous system
innervates glands
outside the central
nervous system, often
with opposite effects.

○ Hormonal signals
also provide feedback HORMONES AND SEXUAL
to maintain stable DEVELOPMENT OF THE BODY
blood levels of Two different kinds of zygotes
hormones.
● XX (female) pair of sex
○ Nonhormonal chromosomes and XY (male) pair.
chemicals, such as
glucose, calcium, and ○ It is the genetic information
sodium, also play a on the sex chromosomes that
role in regulating usually determines whether
hormone levels. development will occur along
female or male lines
○ Pulsatile hormone
release, which occurs
several times daily,
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INTERNAL REPRODUCTIVE DUCTS. the testes (the Greek word orchis
means “testicle”). Gonadectomy -
or castration, is the surgical removal
of gonads—either ovaries or testes.

EXTERNAL REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS.

● Every typical fetus develops

separate precursors for the
male(medulla) and female (cortex)
gonads and for the male (Wolffian
system) and female (Müllerian
system) reproductive ducts; then,
only one set, male or female,
develops.
○ both male and female
genitals develop from the
very same precursor

● Wolffian system - the capacity to

develop into male reproductive ducts
( ex. the seminal vesicles – which
hold the fluid in which sperm cells
are ejaculated; and vas deferens –
through which the sperm cells travel
to the seminal vesicles)

● Müllerian system, - the capacity to

develop into female ducts

○ (ex. the uterus – the upper

part of the vagina; and the
fallopian tubes – through
which ova travel from the
ovaries to the uterus

● Müllerian-inhibiting substance -
causes the Müllerian system to
degenerate and the testes to
descend into the scrotum
○ scrotum—the ball sac that
holds the testes outside the
body cavity
● Testosterone—not the sex
chromosomes—that triggers Wolffian
development, genetic females who
are injected with testosterone during
the appropriate fetal period develop
male reproductive ducts along with
their female ones.
● Ovariectomy - removal of the
ovaries, orchidectomy - removal of
At the end of the third month of pregnancy,
the bipotential precursor of the external
reproductive organs consists of four parts:
the glans, the urethral folds, the lateral
bodies, and the labioscrotal swellings
● glans grows into the head of the
penis in the male or the clitoris in
the female; the urethral folds fuse in
the male or enlarge to become the
labia minora in the female; the
lateral bodies form the shaft of the
penis in the male or the hood of the
clitoris in the female; and the
labioscrotal swellings form the
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 scrotum in the male or the labia
majora in the female.
The development of the external genitals is
controlled by the presence or absence of
testosterone. If testosterone is present at
the appropriate stage of fetal development,
male external genitals develop from the
bipotential precursor. Conversely, if
testosterone is not present, development of
the external genitals proceeds along female
lines
Puberty: Hormones and Development of
Secondary Sex Characteristics
This period of developmental quiescence ends
abruptly with the onset of puberty, which is the
transitional period between childhood and
adulthood, during which fertility is achieved, the
adolescent growth spurt occurs, and the secondary
sex characteristics develop.
● Secondary sex characteristics are those
features other than the reproductive organs
that distinguish sexually mature males and
females.
Puberty is associated with an increase in the
release of hormones by the anterior pituitary.The
increase in growth hormone release is the only
anterior pituitary hormone that does not have a
primary target gland and acts directly on bone and
muscle tissue to produce pubertal growth.
In pubertal males, androgen levels are higher than
estrogen levels, and masculinization is the result; in
pubertal females, the estrogens predominate, and
the result is feminization.
- Androstenedione, an androgen that is
released primarily by the adrenal cortex, is
typically responsible for the growth of pubic
hair and axillary hair (underarm hair) in
females.
THREE CASES OF EXCEPTIONAL
HUMAN SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
The Case of Anne S., the Woman with
Testes
● She sought treatment for two
sex-related disorders: lack of
menstruation and pain during sexual
intercourse
● Her vagina was only 4 centimeters
long, and her uterus was
underdeveloped.
○ Doctors concluded that her
sex chromosomes were XY
and concluded that Anne
had the genes of a genetic
male
○ She suffers complete
androgen insensitivity
syndrome (CAIS)
● Complete androgen insensitivity
syndrome (CAIS) - occurs when the
androgen receptors totally
unresponsive
● eg. A person’s external genital
appears female. But they don’t have
female sex organs (no ovaries,
fallopian tubes, or uterus).
Partial androgen insensitivity
syndrome (PAIS) - A person’s external
genitals may appear partially (not fully)
developed male or female or may not be
clearly one or the other
The Case of the Little Girl Who Grew
into a Boy
● She was raised by her parents as a
girl without incident until the onset of
puberty when she suddenly began to
develop male secondary sex
characteristics.
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 ● She suffers from Adrenogenital
syndrome caused by congenital
adrenal hyperplasia — a congenital
deficiency in the release of the
hormone cortisol from the adrenal
cortex, which results in compensatory
adrenal hyperactivity and the
excessive release of adrenal
androgens.
○ Females with adrenogenital
syndrome are usually born with
an enlarged clitoris
The Case of the Twin Who Lost His Penis
● a monozygotic twin whose penis was
accidentally destroyed during
circumcision at the age of 7 months.
○ The report of this case of
ablatio penis was influential.
○ David requested androgen
treatment, a mastectomy
(surgical removal of breasts),
and phalloplasty (surgical
creation of a penis).
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT OF BRAIN
AND BEHAVIOR
FIRST DISCOVERY OF A SEX
DIFFERENCE IN MAMMALIAN BRAIN
FUNCTION.
The first attempts to discover sex differences
in the mammalian brain focused on the
factors that control the development of the
steady and cyclic patterns of gonadotropin
release in males and females,respectively.
The seminal experiments were conducted by
Pfeiffer in 1936. In his experiments, some
neonatal rats (males and females) were
gonadectomized and some were not, and
some received gonad transplants (ovaries or
testes) and some did not.
The brains of males tend to be about 15
percent larger than those of females on
average.
There are differences in the average volumes
of various cortical areas, nuclei, and fiber
tracts, in the numbers and types of neural and
glial cells that compose various structures, in
the plasticity of certain brain structures, and in
the numbers and types of synapses that
connect the cells in various structures.
As sexual differentiation of the genitals takes
place in the first two months of pregnancy,
and sexual differentiation of the brain starts
during the second half of pregnancy, these
two processes may be influenced
independently of each other, resulting in
transsexuality. This also means that in the
case of an ambiguous gender at birth, the
degree of masculinization of the genitals may
not reflect the same degree of masculinization
of the brain.
Differences in brain structures and brain
functions have been found that are related to
sexual orientation and gender.
AROMATIZATION HYPOTHESIS. What is
aromatization?
All gonadal and adrenal sex hormones are
steroid hormones, and because all steroid
hormones are derived from cholesterol, they
have similar structures and are readily
converted from one to the other.
For example, a slight change to the
testosterone molecule that occurs under the
influence of the enzyme (a protein that
influences a biochemical reaction without
participating in it) aromatase converts
testosterone to estradiol. This process is
called aromatization.
How do genetic females of species whose
brains are masculinized by estradiol keep
from being masculinized by their mothers’
estradiol, which circulates through the
fetal blood supply?
Alpha fetoprotein is the answer. Alpha
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fetoprotein is present in the blood of rodents
during the perinatal period, and it deactivates
circulating estradiol by binding to it.
SEX DIFFERENCES ON THE BRAIN:
THE MODERN PERSPECTIVE
Most distinctions between the sexes in the
brain are not binary, where men and women
are different from one another. Most known
sex differences in the brain are statistically
significant, varied, and mild. In summary, the
average male and female brains differ
greatly, yet they also typically overlap quite a
little.
There are notable gender disparities in the
prevalence of neurological disorders: males
are significantly more likely to have
Parkinson's disease and autism spectrum
disorder, whereas females are far more likely
to have Alzheimer's disease. The finding that
men do not heal from severe brain injury as
well as women has significant therapeutic
implications.
Sex differences arise separately in different
regions of the brain at different times and
through diverse mechanisms; the brain is not
entirely masculinized or feminine.
EFFECTS OF GONADAL HORMONES
ON ADULTS
Once an individual reaches sexual maturity,
gonadal hormones begin to play a role in activating
reproductive behavior.
MALE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND
GONADAL HORMONES
The first is that orchiectomy leads to a reduction in
sexual interest and behavior; the second is that the
rate and the degree of the loss are variable. About
half the males became completely asexual within a
few weeks of the operation; others quickly lost their
ability to achieve an erection but continued to
experience some sexual interest and pleasure, and
a few continued to copulate successfully.
It has been suggested that adrenal androgens may
play some role in the maintenance of sexual activity
in some castrated males.
Adrenal androgens may play some role in the
maintenance of sexual activity in some castrated
males, but there is no direct evidence for this
hypothesis.
Orchidectomy removes, in one fell swoop—or, to
put
it more precisely, in two fell swoops—a pair of
glands that release many hormones.
Because testosterone is the major testicular
hormone, the major symptoms of orchidectomy
have been generally attributed to the loss of
testosterone rather than to the loss of some other
testicular hormone or to some nonhormonal
consequence of the surgery.
The therapeutic effects of replacement injections of
testosterone have confirmed this assumption.
Dihydrotestosterone, a nonaromatizable
androgen,
restores the copulatory behavior of castrated male
primates;however, it fails to restore the copulatory
behavior of castrated male rodents.
FEMALE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND
GONADAL HORMONES
Two days before ovulation, the growing follicle
(the ovarian structure in which eggs mature)
gradually increases its output of estrogens,
which is followed by a dramatic surge in
progesterone as the egg is released. Female rats,
guinea pigs, and many other mammalian species
exhibit a close relationship between the cycle of
hormone release and the estrous cycle, or the
cycle of sexual receptivity, indicating that
female sexual activity in these species is
regulated by hormones.
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Figure 13.11 The sexual behavior of male guinea
pigs with low, medium, and high sex drive.
Sexual behavior was disrupted by castration
and returned to its original level by very large
replacement injections of testosterone.
● In short, the evidence suggests
that both estradiol and testosterone can influence
female sexual behavior, aleast in some cases
ANABOLIC STEROID ABUSE
Ovariectomy has been shown to reduce sexual
desire and frequency of sexual fantasies in
human females.
Which particular ovarian hormone is
responsible for sexual desire in females?
In ovariectomized human females, estradiol
supplements reinstated their sexual desire and
pleasure. Likewise,testosterone supplements also
reinstated their sexual desire and pleasure.
Experiments on nonhuman ovariectomized and
adrenalectomized rhesus monkeys have shown
that replacement injections of testosterone, but not
estradiol, increased their proceptivity.
Some studies of postmenopausal human females
found that estrogen therapy renewed sexual
interest, but other studies have not. Similarly, only
some studies have found that testosterone renewed
the sexual interest of postmenopausal females.
Still other studies have found that testosterone
increased sexual desire in postmenopausal human
females but only when administered at unnaturally
high levels
Steroids with anabolic (growth-promoting)
properties include testosterone and other anabolic
steroids. Due to its quick breakdown after injection
and unfavorable side effects, testosterone is not a
highly effective anabolic substance in and of itself.
Although scientists have created several powerful,
long-acting anabolic steroids, they have not yet
created one without any negative side effects.
Anabolic steroids have been shown to have a
variety of cardiovascular effects that have been
linked to premature death.
Oral anabolic steroids have been shown to have
adverse effects on the liver, including the growth of
liver tumors. Less dangerous, but still disturbing,
are the muscle spasms,muscle pains, blood in the
urine, acne, general swelling from the retention of
water, bleeding of the tongue, nausea, vomit-
ing, and fits of depression and anger.
In males, the negative feedback from high levels of
anabolic steroids reduces gonadotropin release;
this leads to a reduction in testicular activity, which
can result in testicular atrophy (wasting away of
the testes) and sterility. Gynecomastia (breast
growth in males) can also occur.
Brain Mechanisms of Sexual Behavior
Human sexual behavior is complex and varied.
Sexual practices vary from culture to culture, and
from person to person within each culture.
Four Brain Structures Associated
with Sexual Activity
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CORTEX AND SEXUAL ACTIVITY - Because of its
fundamental role in reproduction, and thus the very
survival of our species, sexual behavior was once
assumed to be regulated by archaic circuits in the
brain stem of early evolutionary origin.
HYPOTHALAMUS AND SEXUAL ACTIVITY -
Interest in the role of the hypothalamus in sexual
behavior was driven by the discovery of a specific
structural difference in the male and female
hypothalamus.
AMYGDALA AND SEXUAL ACTIVITY - The
amygdalas,located in the left and right medial
temporal lobes, play a general role in the
experience of emotions and social cognition
VENTRAL STRIATUM AND SEXUAL ACTIVITY -
Sexual activity is clearly among the most
pleasurable human activities. Because orgasm is
associated with pleasure, it comes as no surprise
that the ventral striatum is activated in human
volunteers by sexually provocative visual images.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Sexual Orientation - For a variety of historical
reasons, heterosexual, gay, and
lesbian individuals have dominated the study of
sexual orientation.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENES - Research
has shown that differences in sexual orientation are
influenced by genes.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND EARLY
HORMONES - Many people mistakenly assume
that gay males and lesbians have lower levels of
sex hormones.
FRATERNAL BIRTH ORDER EFFECT - the
reliable finding that the probability of a male being
gay increases as a function of the number of older
brothers he has.
WHAT TRIGGERS THE DEVELOPMENT OF
SEXUAL ATTRACTION - The evidence indicates
that most females and males living
in Western countries experience their first intense
feelings of sexual attraction at about 10 years of
age, whether they are heterosexual, bisexual, gay,
or lesbian
WHAT DIFFERENCES IN THE BRAIN CAN
ACCOUNT FOR DIFFERENCES IN SEXUAL
ATTRACTION - The brains of gay, lesbian, and
bisexual persons and heterosexuals must differ in
some way, but how? Many studies have attempted
to identify neuroanatomical, neuropsychological,
neurophysiological, and hormonal response
differences between gay men and heterosexual
men.
GENDER IDENTITY - the gender that a person
most identifies with, including woman, man,
transgender (an individual who identifies as a man,
a woman, or some intersection thereof), or another
gender category. Gender identity often coincides
with a person’s anatomical sex, but not always.
INDEPENDENCE OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION
AND GENDER IDENTITY - Obviously, the mere
existence of individuals who have non-heterosexual
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sexual orientations and/or a gender that is neither
man or woman is a challenge to the mamawawa,
the assumption that males and females belong to
distinct and opposite categories.

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