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Sexually dimorphic behaviors.

D B Kelley1

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027.

Annual Review of Neuroscience
|January 1, 1988
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Evolutionary pressures shape sex differences in behaviors like courtship and parental care. Mechanisms involve differing responses to stimuli or distinct neural components, with hormonal influences on development playing a key role.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Behavioral Endocrinology

Background:

  • Sex differences in behavior arise from natural and sexual selection.
  • Behaviors such as courtship, copulation, and parental care exhibit dimorphism due to evolutionary pressures.
  • Mechanisms underlying these behavioral differences can involve differential responses to stimuli or distinct neural pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the evolutionary and cellular mechanisms driving sex differences in behavior.
  • To differentiate between behavioral mechanisms influenced by external stimuli/endocrine milieu versus those with distinct neural components.
  • To investigate cellular processes, including hormone sensitivity, cell number, and synaptic connectivity, in sexually dimorphic neurons.

Main Methods:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Comparative analysis of behavioral dimorphisms (courtship, copulation, parental behaviors).
  • Examination of two primary mechanisms: differential response to stimuli/endocrine factors and distinct sensory/CNS/motor components.
  • Investigation of cellular mechanisms in behavioral effector neurons, focusing on hormone sensitivity, cell number, and synaptic connectivity.

    • Main Results:

    • Sex differences in behavior are shaped by natural and sexual selection.
    • Two main mechanisms contribute to behavioral dimorphism: differential environmental/endocrine responses and distinct neural substrates.
    • Sexually dimorphic neurons often exhibit developmental arrest, remaining immature and hormone-sensitive post-differentiation of other cells.

    Conclusions:

    • Hormonal regulation of sexually dimorphic behaviors is mediated by distinct cellular mechanisms.
    • Understanding how hormones influence developmental programs in behavioral effector cells is crucial and an active area of research.
    • Further investigation into the cellular and molecular processes underlying these developmental programs is warranted.