Neuro Bio Of Sex Differences

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Estrogen and effects

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increase towards end of pregnancy. if estrogen:progesterone ratio increases during pregnancy, more positive attachment is formed between mother and infant.
olfactory: periovultary women, women in early pregnancy, smell increases. increase in estrogen = increase in olfactory sensitivity.
more estrogen= stronger taste. indirectly effects body size, directly decreases weights.
estrogen= better short term memory. treatment enhances memory & reduces neuronal loss.
estrogen doses in normal women = better mood.
estrogen doses in post-menopausal women= bad mood
estrogen doses in clinically depressed women= better mood with large doses

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prolactin

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milk production = increased prolactin. pups suckling increases prolactin. increase just before childbirth observed in fathers, more alert, responsive to infant crying.

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oxytocin

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increase= milk letdown. important for uterus contraction during parturition. increase = mother-infant bonding.
brain oxytocin injection in non-pregnant females = maternal behavior towards infants.
in the medial preoptic area increased oxygen receptors in pregnant women = increased oxytocin receptors.

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progesterone

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if estrogen:progesterone increases during pregnancy = more positive attachment formed with mother infant bonding.

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cortisol

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new mothers with higher concentrations = more attraction, better at identifying own infant, talk more to babies, more physically affectionate behavior.
decreased level in expectant fathers compared to non-expectant males.
increased cortisol released by adrenal gland = memory boosting.
higher estrogen = higher cortisol release
anti-depressants increase cortisol: reduce neural atrophy.

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corticosterone

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increase in prolactin = increase in corticosterone
a stress hormone similar to cortisol

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maternal aggression

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towards predators. triggered by pup suckling. increases 48 after pup suckling.
surgical nipple removal = lowered aggression.
coincides with levels of serotonin. serotonin blocker reduces aggression.

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serotonin

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5-HT elevated levels in women = increased aggression.
serotonergic pathways = major 5-HT production in raphe nucleus.

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testosterone

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decreased level in expectant fathers.
lower levels in men = more sympathy and need to respond to infant cries.
increases body weight.

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chemosensory

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olfactory cues. infant-associated odors more pleasant for human mothers. can ID a t-shirt worn by their child. can ID childs amniotic fluid. odor important for mother-infant bonding.

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somatosensory

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touch. suckling behavior of young. offspring body. temp

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auditory

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emotional tones of language. non-verbal vocalization. music. human moms can identify own infant based on cry. females have lower auditory threshold

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fusiform gyrus

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response to children's faces. womens light up more.

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anterior cingular cortex

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regardless of parental status, showed activity changes in response to infant crying and laughing. LOVE

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amygdala

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parents in general show more activation in response to crying, but parents showed more activation to infant laughing.
sensitive to cortisol and epinephrine increase.
emotional memory in men: right amygdala. in women: left amygdala.
part of limbic system
part of fear

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medial preoptic area

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increased estrogen receptors = increased oxytocin receptors.
higher activity in experience moms to pup exposure, regardless of parental status.

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synaptic changes

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changes in existing synapses. making new synapses (synaptogenesis).
type of plasticity.

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neuronal changes

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cell death.
producing new neurons (neurogenesis) in hippocampus and olfactory bulb.

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hippocampus

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high density of glucocorticoid receptors. part of limbic system

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immediate/iconic memory

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continuation of sensory processing (100ths of a second to seconds)

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working/short term memory

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STM. last for seconds to minutes in humans

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encoding

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information goes from sensory channels to STM

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consolidation

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storage of information to LTM

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retrieval

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recalling memory

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sensation

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translation of sensory information to language of nervous system. i.e. transduction of sensory receptors.

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perception

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multi-level processing of sensory information through various parts of the nervous system to make it meaningful; awareness of sensory stimuli.

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sensory threshold

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weakest level of a sensory stimulus that can be detected. the lower the threshold the higher sensitivity.

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sensory receptors

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activation = detection of presence of a sensory stimulus.

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olfactory threshold

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females smell better. lower threshold

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auditory threshold

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females hear better. lower threshold.

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lateralization

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overall brain hemisphere differences

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right side of brain

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positive emotion detection.
emotional memory in men in right amygdala.
global processing
visual stimulus from left hemifield.

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left side of brain

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left hemisphere is larger and weighs more than right. this difference is more exaggerated in males.
detail processing
visual stimulus from right hemifield.
better with language
negative emotion detection.

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women and hearing

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females hear better.
find auditory stimulus more rewarding.
use both brain hemispheres more evenly for auditory.

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men and hearing

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worse hearing than females.
auditory processing is highly lateralized to left hemisphere.
right-ear advantage.
make more mistakes in tests when sounds are presented to left ear.

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men and vision

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men see better than women.
better visual acuity
find visual stimulus more rewarding.
20% more neurons in primary visual cortex in occipital lobe. more neurons due to reduced cell death.

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women and vision

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rats: testosterone or estrogen implants right after birth. testosterone implanted rats have malelike visual cortex.

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women and taste

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females taste better
higher sensitivity.
exaggerated during pregnancy
more estrogen= stronger taste.
greater sweet preference.

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men and taste

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testosterone increase weight.
men are usually bigger.
males eat more.

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men and memory

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better spatial processing helps related memory.
use fewer cues for performance but do better (rat/maze)
emotion memory processed in right amygdala
stress-elevated level of glucocorticoids associated with impaired performance in men.

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women and memory

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women remember details of emotional events better.
increased cortisol released by adrenal gland during stressful events = memory boosting.
higher estrogen = higher cortisol.
activation of left amygdala in emotional memory.
perform better on short term memory tasks.
estrogen enhances memory and reduces neuronal loss. relieves and or slows development of Alzheimer's

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episodic memory

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memory of events

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semantic memory

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memory of facts

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skill learning

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challenging tasks learned over multiple trials

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priming

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exposure to a stimulus changes its subsequent processing

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conditioning

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associative learning

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adrenal gland

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releases stress hormone cortisol and similar glucocorticoids

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stress response

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predictability, less stressful if predictable.
importance of outlet for frustration = lower glucocorticoids.
body's general response to restore natural balance by eliminating stressor.
need to mobilize energy and to become more alert to deal with stressor.
ioncrease immediate oxygen intake.
decrease energy usage by inhibiting processes not critical for immediate survival.
increase sensory/cognitive functions.
decrease pain perception

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glucose

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energy

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immediate stress response

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increased activation of sympathetic nervous system.
increased production of epinephrine and norepinephrine.
flight-or-flight response.
increased or decreased organ functions depending on relevance to survival.

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delayed stress response

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activation of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis)
hypotalamus: corticotropin releasing hormone.
pituitary gland: adrenocorticotropic hormone.
adrenal gland: glucocorticoids
feedback mechanism

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effects of stress on behavior

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consistent chemical changes in response to different types of stress must act on the brain: chemicals must be able to cross BBB to access brain.
brain must have receptors for chemicals.
glucocorticoids can cross BBB, adrenaline cannot

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hippocampal synapses

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sensitive to glucocorticoid activities.
chronic stress: decreased # of hippocampal cells and synapses.
acute stress: increased hippocampal synapses. reversible stress systems and hippocampal changes in 1-2 weeks.
antidepressants incerase # of hippocampal neurons that survive.
takes 3-6 weeks for new neurons to become incorporated to hippocampal circuitry. alzheimer's = loss of hippocampal neurons

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glucocorticoids

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need to be at optimal level
single injection of glucocorticoids (mimicking acute stress) = enhanced memory consolidation.
chronic glucocorticoid treatment = decreased hippocampal cells and synapses and memory impairment in variety of learning/memory tasks.
higher gluco levels associated with increased performance errors. females have higher gluco levels.
stress hormones
highest density in hippocampus

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cushing syndrome

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excessive coritsol produced = decreased hippocampal volume

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addison's disease

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insufficient cortisol porduced = decreased hippocampal volume.

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acute stress

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imporoves performance in learning and memory. facilitation in spatial and non spatial tasks. facilitation starts within a few minutes of stress and can last a few days.
males: increased hippocampal synapses. higher level of memory performance.
females: higher gluco levels. 2x more likely to develop PTSD

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chronic stress

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decreased hippocampal cells and synapses.
memory impairment.
increased performances.
females: more resistant to impairing effects of chronic stress, in some tasks increased performance. Amenorrhea.
males: stress-elevated level of gluco is associated with impaired preformance in memory tasks in men. erectile dysfunction. premature ejaculation. stress suppresses fertility.

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amenorrhea

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period in women stops due to chronic stress

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erectile dysfunction

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increased adrenergic activation of sympathetic rather than parasympathetic nervous system

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premature ejaculation

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normally, activity switch from parasympathetic to sympathetic nervous systmer just prior to ejaculation
increased adrenaline = premature sympathetic activation

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sympathetic nervous system

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mobilizes body for emergency.
arouses body.
emotional arousal area
immediate stress response increases activation

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parasympathetic nervous system

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calms you down

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perception of control

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higher control = less stressful

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length of stress effects:

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impairment reversible between 1 to 2 weeks.
more permanent effects if exposed prenatal or early postnatal.
early acute stress: i.e. short daily separation from mom: lower level of gluco, and faster return to baseline in response to stress as adults.
early chronic stress: i.e. permanent seperation from mom or stressing mom during pregnancy: higher level of gluco as adults

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limbic system

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amygdala, hippocampus, cingulate gyrus, prefrontal cortex, hypothalamus, thalamus.

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insular cortex

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disgust.

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aprosodia

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cannot generate or perceive emotional tones in speech due to damage in right brain hemisphere

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major depression

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mood disorder. diagnosis: HPA control on gluco level.
negative feedback mechanism. (prevents overwhleming stress).
desamethasone supprsssion test
may be due to general neural atrophy (loss of neurons)
antidepressants increase neuroprotective growth factors in brain to protect neurons. coritsol reduces these factors.

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Dexamethasone Suppression Test

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injecting dexamethasone in normal, non-depressed people = reduced level of cortisol.
injecting in a depressed person = no cortisol suppression observed.

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adrenergic pathways

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major norepinephrine (NE) production in locus coereleus

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serotenergic pathways

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major serotonin (5-HT) production in raphe nucleus.

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MAOIs

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Monoamine oxidase inhibitors. NE and 5-HT monoamines. decreased NE and 5-HT = depression. MAOIs inhibit breakdown of monoamines by the enzyme oxidase = increases NE & 5-HT levels.

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SSRIs

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Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. e.g, Prozac. inhibits reuptake of 5-HT after neurotransmitters release. increased level of 5-HT reduce anxiety and impulsiveness.

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allele

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gene coding for 5-HT (serotonin transporter) comes on either long or short allele.
monkeys with short allele have impaired serotonin transmission.
mice with 1 or 2 copies of short allele are reactive, fearful.
childhood abuse/trauma predicted depression only in those with short allele.
humans with short allele and experienced stress more likely to be clinically depressed

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OCD

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obsessive compulsive disorder.
anxiety disorder.
prevalence 3 in 100.
higher rate in women.
symptoms: obsessions, compulsions, phobias.
Abnormal 5-HT functions.
brain areas affected: basal ganglia (too high), cingulate cortex (too high), frontal lobe (too low)

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compulsions

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ritual behaviors. in OCD

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obsessions

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in Tourette's and OCD.
female touretters more that males.
repetitive thoughts

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rods

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type of photoreceptor.
concentrated in peripheral retina.
night vision
1 type of photopigment (light-sensitive proteins)

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cones

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concentrated in central retina.
day vision
3 types of photopigments

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color blindness

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visual system can't process some or all colors.
transparency in eye: tissues and fillings
light activates photoreceptors (sensory receptors of visual system) in retina at back of eye.
essentially deficits in one or more photopigments.

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color vision

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3 types of photopigments in cones. each type sensitive to short (blue), medium (green) and long (red) light wavelengths.

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genes and color blindness

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production of photopigments controlled by genes.
genes for red and green pigments on X chromosome.
no color blindness as long as you have at least 1 copy of normal genes.
gene missing = no photopigments produced
gene mutated = defective photopigments produced
females XX = 2 copies of genes
males XY = 1 copy of genes

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compulsive tics

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brief purposeless involuntary movements or sounds

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echolalia

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involuntary repetition of others words

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echopraxia

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involuntary repetition of others actions

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coprolalia

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compulsive utterances of curses and obscenities

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dominergic neurons

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reward/pleasure pathway.
in ventral tegmental area in nucleus accumbens.

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Alzheimer's

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most common neurodegenerative disorder.
characteristics: extracellular amyloid plaques. intracellular neurofibrillary tangles.
diffuse loss of neurons: cortical, hippocampal and especially cholinergic neurons in basal forebrain.
behavioral symptoms: impaired cognitive (memory/learning) functions. dementia.
strong genetic component.
risk factors: head trauma, stress, lack of mental or motor activity/stimulation
more common in women

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Tourette's Syndrome

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1 in 1000. typically onset in childhood.
compulsive tics, echolalia, echopraxia, coprolalia, obsessions.
excessive dopamine activity in basal ganglia.
Haldol (dopamine inhibitor) and prozac (for obsessions)
3 to 4x more common in males