NEUR 1201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Frontal Lobe, Sexual Attraction, Y Chromosome
13 Apr 2017
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Document Summary
Females and males share almost all of their genes. The only real difference between them, genetically speaking, is that females have two x chromosomes, and males have an x and a y chromosome. The testes and ovaries, respectively the male and female gonads, arise from the same tissue embryonically. Testes develop under the influence of the y chromosome. If no y chromosome is present, ovaries develop by default. While sex is ultimately a matter of genetics, the sex chromosomes merely get the ball rolling" on sexual differentiation. The vast majority of sexual development takes place under the influence of hormones, and there are many non-genetic reasons that these can vary. The brain, like many other parts of the body, contains sexual dimorphisms that develop under the influence of sex hormones. This process begins in-utero, and continues through puberty. Sexual dimorphisms are structural or functional features that differ substantially between sexes. Testosterone, produced mainly by the testes, is the primary androgen.
