Different Behaviors, Different Brains? HOME VARIATION PATHOLOGY GENDER & SEXUAL ORIENTATION

GENDER & SEXUAL ORIENT- ATION A Brief Gendered History Structure, Hormones, & Something Else? Individual Variation Pathology Bibliography & Links

What about the SDN? Why would it matter that some individuals have larger SDNs than others? Great question! An additional piece of the puzzle is that when females have greater amounts of testosterone in their body, their SDNs tend to be enlarged. Look again at the picture by clicking here. You will see that the SDNs of the "androgenized females" are approximately the same size as those of "normal males". The SDN is part of the preoptic area of the hypothalamus. This area of the brain plays a role in gonadotropin release and sexual behavior in many species. The concentration of sex hormones is instrumental in the development of sex differences. This can be tested by observing changes in the size of the SDN when Hmmm... the size of the SDN fluctuates between males and females... why is the amount of testosterone important? HOME || VARIATION || PATHOLOGY || GENDER || SEXUALITY || LINKS