Key Names + Dates Week 3

Question 1

Brain differences between men and women

Answer 1

Lenroot & Giedd, 2010
Females have larger hippocampus, this area has more oestradiol receptors than androgen receptors
Males have a larger amygdala where there is a higher concentration of androgen receptors

Question 2

Handedness

Answer 2

Theory that andorgens slow development of left hemisphere of the brain
Right has more chance of becoming dominant
Geschwind, 1983

Question 3

Digit ratio

Answer 3

Prenatal testosterone linked with lengths of index and ring finger
Manning et al., 2002

Question 4

Turner Syndrome

Answer 4

Single, or one and a bit X chromosomes
May have underdeveloped ovaries

Question 5

Klinefelter syndrome

Answer 5

Individual has XXY chromosomes
Interferes with effect of testosterone

Question 6

Androgen insensitivity syndrome

Answer 6

No androgen receptors
Mullarian inhibiting substance still acts

Question 7

Congenital andrenal hyperplasia

Answer 7

Little cortisol released from adrenal cortex
Adrenal glands become large and hyperactive (more androgens released)
Clitoris may be enlarger in females

Question 8

Study with sex offenders

Answer 8

Bremer, 1959
Out of 102 offenders (all underwent orchidectomy - removal of testes) only 3 were reoffenders

Question 9

When are women most likely to initiate sex?

Answer 9

Ovulation or premenstrual time (peak in oestradiol and testosterone levels)
van Goozen et., 1997

Question 10

Sex hormones and female sexual behaviour

Answer 10

More masculine faces, deeper voices, more confident competitive men during ovulation
Challenge to consistency (Harris, 2013)

Question 11

Sex hormones and aggression

Answer 11

Injection of testosterone in male mice increases
aggression whereas castration reduces aggression (e.g.
Beeman, 1947)

Testosterone injections did not lead to an increase in
self or partner reported aggression (O’Connor et al.,
2002) – little evidence of activational effect

Question 12

Sex hormones and eating behaviour

Answer 12

Oestrogen appears to reduce appetitive effect of
ghrelin hormone in rats (Clegg et al., 2007)

Question 13

Health effects of anabolic steriod use

Answer 13

Heart muscle disease, high blood pressure
Kanayama et al., 2008

Question 14

Natural selection argument for male/female differences

Answer 14

Division of labour in the past may have led to different selection pressures in men and women
Silverman et al., 2007

Could also be that men and women are socialised into doing specific things
Gunderson et al., 2012

Question 15

Meta analysis of sex differences

Answer 15

Sex difference in spatial test performance
Mental rotation test showed largest sex difference
Voyer et al., 1995

Difference in verbal fluency between men and women (De Frias et al., 2006)

Question 16

Sex difference and cognition

Answer 16

Women with CAH performed better on spatial
tasks (including mental rotation) than female
siblings without CAH
Men with CAH showed lower performance on
spatial tasks than brothers who do not have CAH
Berenbaum et al., 2012

Question 17

Hormone fluctuation and cognition in men

Answer 17

Men with lower testosterone did better in spatial tasks (aka later in the day)
Moffat and Hampson, 1996

Question 18

Hormone fluctuation and cognition in women

Answer 18

Verbal fluency during midlutheal phase than at menstruation
Spatial task better at menstruation
Hampson, 1990

Question 19

Hormone therapy and cognition

Answer 19

Reported that mental rotation test score improved most in
female to male transgender and performance deteriorated
in male to female transgender groups
Verbal fluency was worse across all groups, but biggest
downwards change was in female to male group, and male
to female group performed better on one verbal fluency test
after therapy
van Goozen et al., 1995