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Related Concept Videos

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective01:23

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

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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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Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the...
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Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
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Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments
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Evolutionary insights into sexual behavior from whiptail lizards.

Lauren A O'Connell1, David Crews2

  • 1Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.

Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part A, Ecological and Integrative Physiology
|April 30, 2021
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The brain is bipotential, not predetermined. Whiptail lizard research reveals that neural networks produce a spectrum of sex-typical behaviors, challenging fixed developmental programs.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Neuroendocrinology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • The traditional view posits fixed sex-typical behaviors determined by development.
  • The whiptail lizard clade, with parthenogenetic all-female species displaying diverse sexual behaviors, offers a unique model system.
  • David Crews's pioneering work established whiptails for studying brain-behavior relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review 40 years of research on whiptail lizards.
  • To demonstrate the brain's bipotentiality in producing sex-typical behaviors.
  • To highlight the evolution of brain-behavior relationships and sexuality.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing observations of parthenogenetic all-female whiptail lizards.
  • Integrating research on hormones, neural activity, and gene expression.
  • Analyzing the evolution of brain-behavioral plasticity.

Main Results:

  • The brain is bipotential, generating behaviors across a spectrum.
  • Neural networks, not predetermined programs, govern behavioral output.
  • Sex-typical behaviors emerge from a dynamic interplay of biological factors.

Conclusions:

  • Whiptail lizard research transformed understanding of behavioral neuroscience.
  • The brain's capacity for bipotentiality reshapes views on sexuality and development.
  • Future research directions and advice for young scientists are discussed.