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Related Concept Videos

Feedback Loops01:01

Feedback Loops

In most cases, excessive hormone production is prevented by negative feedback—a loop that starts with a stimulus inducing the release of a particular substance, like a hormone, to maintain a certain level before triggering a signal that results in a decrease in further release of the hormone.
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective01:23

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
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Hormonal Regulation01:33

Hormonal Regulation

The renin-aldosterone system is an endocrine system which guides the renal absorption of water and electrolytes, thus managing blood pressure and osmoregulation. Activation of the system begins in the kidneys with a small cluster of cells adjacent to the afferent and efferent blood vessels of the renal corpuscle. As the nephrons are filtering blood, juxtaglomerular cells monitor blood pressure. If they detect a decrease in pressure, they release the hormone renin into the bloodstream.
Hormonal Control of the Ovarian Cycle01:30

Hormonal Control of the Ovarian Cycle

The ovarian cycle is meticulously regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. This cycle orchestrates the release of a mature oocyte, essential for reproduction.
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Control of Eating Behavior Using a Novel Feedback System
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Review. Do hormonal control systems produce evolutionary inertia?

Elizabeth Adkins-Regan1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Uris Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-7601, USA. er12@cornell.edu

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|December 1, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Hormonal systems in vertebrates, particularly the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and sex steroid effects on behavior, offer evolutionary flexibility. However, sexual differentiation may pose an evolutionary constraint in birds.

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Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Hormonal control systems are complex and integrated in animals.
  • Concerns exist that these systems may limit evolutionary adaptation to environmental changes.
  • Vertebrate hormonal systems are crucial for understanding evolutionary constraints.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess if key hormonal systems act as evolutionary constraints in vertebrates, especially birds, facing anthropogenic environmental change.
  • To examine the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, sex steroid effects on mating behavior, and sexual differentiation.
  • To evaluate the potential for evolutionary inertia within these systems.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on vertebrate hormonal systems, focusing on the HPG axis, sex steroids, and sexual differentiation.
  • Analysis of the neuroendocrine and molecular mechanisms underlying these systems.
  • Consideration of the brain's role in hormonal regulation and behavioral responses.

Main Results:

  • The HPG axis and activational effects of sex steroids on behavior are unlikely to impede evolution due to inherent flexibility.
  • Neural and molecular networks of the HPG axis allow for phenotypic and evolutionary flexibility, with documented rapid evolutionary responses.
  • Neuroendocrine pathways for behavior offer multiple routes for evolutionary change without altering peripheral hormone levels.
  • Sexual differentiation in birds presents potential evolutionary inertia, possibly limiting diversity in reproductive traits.

Conclusions:

  • The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and sex steroid-mediated behaviors possess significant evolutionary flexibility.
  • Sexual differentiation in birds may represent an evolutionary constraint, potentially impacting adaptation to rapid environmental changes.
  • Behavioral flexibility plays a key role in avian reproduction and adaptation, despite potential constraints from sexual differentiation.