Phy m4.3

Dynamics of sexual behaviour
As a basic drive, sex may be less essential to individual survival than some
other biological drives such as hunger and thirst. But it is necessary for the
survival of all but a handful of species. Sexual behaviour brings together
specialized cells known as gametes to produce a new fertilized cell known as
zygote. The repeated division and differentiation of zygote ultimately produce a
new individual. The nature of sexual behaviour varies markedly between
species. In some species, for eg. fishes, mates never touch. Similar variations
are found in the nature of signals that trigger sexual behaviour. In most lower
animals, external cues are quite specific – colours, body positions taken by the
female, smells, etc. Odours may play negative roles also (eg: mice) – odour of a
strange male may cause a pregnant female mouse to abort.
External sexual signals work in concert with internal factors in both lower
animals and humans, although the relative influence of the internal factors
diminish as one goes up the phylogenetic scale. One of the controlling internal
mechanisms for sex drive is sex hormones, which can be roughly divided into
two groups – androgens (mainly testosterone) and estrogens (mainly estradiol).
Both types of hormones are present in both men and women alike. Androgens
are dominant in males while estrogens are dominant in females.
Studies involving the relationship of hormones and sexual behaviour have

shown a definite correlation (eg: rats) between receptivity in the females and
level of sex hormones, but less of that relationship among males. This
correlation is not so pronounced in higher animals, although John Money
found that women who have undergone removal of adrenal glands show a
marked decline in sexual urge, and that this decline can be reversed through
administration of sex hormones normally produced by adrenal glands.
The nervous system plays a crucial but complex role in controlling the sexual
behaviour. Its chief function is to interact with glands that release sex
hormones. The area primarily involved in this interaction is the hypothalamus,
whose influence on anterior pituitary stimulates the gonads to release the sex
hormones. The hormones from the gonads give feedback to the hypothalamus
and cause it to initiate sexual behaviour. Thus, the overall relationship
between the nervous system and the hormones is circular – beginning with the
stimulation of the hypothalamus, stimulation of the anterior pituitary, and
ending with hormonal feedback to the hypothalamus to initiate sexual
behaviour.
Studies by Alan Fisher and others have classified the role of hormones and
nervous system in the sexual behaviour of rats, and indicated that individual
animals have neural circuits for both types of sexual behaviour with differences
in sensitivity to hormonal stimulation, determining the direction of the overt
behaviour – male or female. They also suggested that while hormones excite
sexual behaviour, they do not necessarily dictate the type of behaviour. These
findings may help explain why human homosexuals injected with testosterone
do not become heterosexuals, but become more active in homosexual
behaviour. But, the question of what ultimately determine the kind of neural
and hormonal level of sexual behaviour in which a given individual will engage,
remains unanswered.
Studies by Donald Pfaff and his coworkers have isolated estrogen-sensitive

neurons in the brain, not only of female, but male rats also. The source of
estrogen, however, differ in male and female brains. In females, it comes from
the ovaries. In males, it is produced in the brain from testosterone through a
chemical process known as “aromatization.” The effect of estrogen on male
sexual behaviour, however, may be limited to rats. Although estrogen given to
castrated male rates restores sexual behaviour, estrogen given to guinea pigs
and moneys does not.
Recent studies indicate that sex hormones exert their effect on the brain by
altering the synaptic activity, which they are able to do in several ways.
Estrogen injected into the ventromedial hypothalamus, for instance, increase
receptors in the post synapse, decreases the production of an inhibitory
neurotransmitter, and increase the production of a protein-related transmitter
by activating DNA.
Learning and social aspect of sexual behaviour
Development of physical sexual behaviour and characteristics depends on sex

hormones – androgen in males and no androgen in females – that are
determined genetically. If androgen is present during foetal development, the
foetus is born looking and behaving like a male. Errors in hormonal production
during foetal development result in sexual aberrations. Excess androgen during
the foetal development of a girl, for example, may result in an individual with
female internal reproductive organs and male external sex organs. This is
known as “female pseudo-hermaphroditism.”
Puberty
At birth, the sexual appearance of humans is incomplete. A second

transformation occurs at around 13 years later, during puberty. At this time,
the sex hormones (testosterone in males and estrogen in females) are released
and secondary sexual characters develop. The results are striking. The boy’s
voice deepens and his muscles enlarge; the girl’s voice changes in quality and
her breasts, vagina and pelvis enlarge. Because both types of hormones are
present in both sexes, the predominance of the one or the other determines
secondary sexual characters, and individuals with imbalances can develop
characteristics of both sexes. This development is particularly prevalent in
older women, in whom a marked decrease in estrogen after menopause enables
the low level of male hormone present to work unopposed.
Social interactions
Social interactions obviously play an important role in the development of

sexual behaviour. Harlow has shown that infant monkeys deprived of social
contact with their mothers (the infants which were reared with cloth
surrogates) could not engage in normal sexual behaviour as adults. The role of
social interaction in the human sexual behaviour is less clear. But, it is
generally acknowledged that the genes and hormones establish a
predisposition towards one sex or the other before birth, and that this
predisposition is thus either nurtured or reversed by early learning and social
interactions.

Phy m4.3

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Phy m4.3

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Dynamics of sexual behaviour

Studies involving the relationship of hormones and sexual behaviour have

Studies by Donald Pfaff and his coworkers have isolated estrogen-sensitive

Learning and social aspect of sexual behaviour

Development of physical sexual behaviour and characteristics depends on sex

At birth, the sexual appearance of humans is incomplete. A second

Social interactions obviously play an important role in the development of

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