PSYC 211 Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Defeminization, Estrous Cycle, Sex Steroid
14 Jun 2016
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Document Summary
Behavioral defeminization: androgens are male sex steroid hormones which stimulate the development of the male sex organs, androgens have a defeminizing effect; they inhibit the later development od anatomical or behavioural female characteristics. If a rodent brain is not exposed to androgens at a critical time during development (shortly after birth), and treated with estradiol and progesterone as an adult, the rat will engage in female sexual behaviour. If a male rat is castrated after birth and given injections of estradiol and progesterone as an adult, it will respond to the presence of another male by assuming lordosis, i. e. it acts as if it were a female. If a rodent brain is exposed to androgens shortly after birth, behavioural defeminization will suppress the neural circuits controlling female sequel behaviour, and behavioural masculinization will allow the rat to engage in male sexual behaviour as an adult.
