Biology of gender

The biology of gender is scientific analysis of the physical basis for behavioural differences between men and women. It is more specific than sexual dimorphism, which covers physical and behavioural differences between males and females of any sexually reproducing species, or sexual differentiation, where physical and behavioural differences between men and women are described.

Biological research of gender has explored such areas as intersex physicalities, gender identity, gender roles and sexual preference. Late twentieth century study focused on hormonal aspects of the biology of gender. With the successful mapping of the human genome, early twenty-first century research started making progress in understanding the effects of gene regulation on the human brain.

Research in this area is generally motivated by the search for causes of diseases in human beings, and ways of treating or preventing those diseases; it is thought that men and women might require different kinds of treatment for certain diseases. The results are relevant to gender issues, but that is not their direct concern.

Contents 1 History 2 Differences 2.1 Brain 2.2 Aptitude 2.3 Aggression 3 See also 4 References 5 External links 6 Literature

[edit] History

It has long been known that there are correlations between the biological sex of animals and their behaviour.^{[1] [2] [3]}

The late twentieth century saw an explosion in technology capable of aiding sex research. Scientists made great progress towards understanding the formation of gender identity in humans. Extensive advances were also made in understanding sexual dimorphism in other animals. For example, there were studies on the effects of sex hormones on rats. The early twenty first century started producing even more amazing results concerning genetically programmed sexual dimorphism in rat brains, prior even to the influence of hormones on development. "Genes on the sex chromosomes can directly influence sexual dimorphism in cognition and behaviour, independent of the action of sex steroids."^[4]

[edit] Differences

[edit] Brain

The brains of many animals, including humans, are significantly different for males and females of the species.^[5] Both genes and hormones affect the formation of many animal brains before "birth" (or hatching), and also behaviour of adult individuals. Hormones significantly affect human brain formation, and also brain development at puberty. The relationship between sex differences in the brain and behavior is a subject of controversy and debate within the scientific community.^[6][7]

In 2006, Alexandra M. Lopes and others published that:

“

A sexual dimorphism in levels of expression in brain tissue was observed by quantitative real-time PCR, with females presenting an up to 2-fold excess in the abundance of PCDH11X transcripts. We relate these findings to sexually dimorphic traits in the human brain. Interestingly, PCDH11X/Y gene pair is unique to Homo sapiens, since the X-linked gene was transposed to the Y chromosome after the human–chimpanzee lineages split.[8]

”

Women on average have a higher percentage of gray matter in comparison to men.^[9][10] However, men have larger brains on average than women, and when adjusted for total brain volume the gray matter differences between sexes is small or nonexistent. Thus, the percentage of gray matter appears to be more related to brain size than it is to gender.^[11][12]

Differences in brain physiology between sexes do not necessarily relate to differences in intellect. Haier et al. found in a 2004 study that: "Men and women apparently achieve similar IQ results with different brain regions, suggesting that there is no singular underlying neuroanatomical structure to general intelligence and that different types of brain designs may manifest equivalent intellectual performance.^[13]

See the sex and intelligence article for more information and research findings on this subject.

[edit] Aptitude

A 2001 report by Richard J. Coley of the ETS stated, "A review of the elementary and secondary education achievement data included in this report from NAEP found that females in all racial/ethnic groups scored higher, on average, than males in reading, writing, and civics. There was an advantage found in science for Hispanic and White males. In mathematics, essentially no differences between males and females were found."^[14]

Kiefer and Sekaquaptewa proposed that a source of some women's underperformance and lowered perseverance in mathematical fields is these women's underlying "implicit" sex-based stereotypes regarding mathematical ability and association, as well as their identification with their gender.^[15]

A number of studies have looked for sex differences in the brain that might relate to sex differences in intelligence or performance on different tasks. These studies have included measures of total brain size, relative amounts of grey and white matter, and a wide variety of measures of brain activity patterns (Sex and Intelligence). However, findings of sex differences in the brain do not answer the Nature versus Nurture controversy raised again by Summers' comments, because studies of neuroplasticity show that the brain can be altered by experience.

In mathematical reasoning, Benbow et al. stated of a 1983 study:

“

When graphed (Benbow, 1988), the male and female SAT-V [verbal] distributions were found to be essentially equivalent, but the male SAT-M [math] distributions manifested a higher mean and larger variance than was observed for the females. Consequently, an exponential intensification of the male:female ratio occurred in the upper tail of the combined distribution. The ratio was 2:1 for adolescents with SAT-M scores of at least 500, 4:1 for those with scores of at least 600, and 13:1 for those with scores of at least 700.[16]

”

In 1983, Benbow stated of the study, "The results obtained by both procedures establish that by age 13 a large sex difference in mathematical reasoning ability exists and that it is especially pronounced at the high end of the distribution [...]."^[17]

Baron-Cohen states that the male:female ratio of autism is 4:1, and examines autism beginning from a theory of the "male brain type," a hypothetical construct defined as "an individual whose folk physics skills are in advance of his or her social folk psychology skills. That is, they show a folk physics>folk psychology discrepancy. This is regardless of one’s chromosomal sex."^[18] Baron-Cohen's theory and findings are controversial and many studies contradict the idea that baby boys and girls differ significantly in the way they learn or reason about objects' mechanical interactions.^[19]

[edit] Aggression

Campbell argues that "female competition is more likely to take the form of indirect aggression or low-level direct combat than among males." Campbell goes on to state that "cultural interpretations have 'enhanced' evolutionarily based sex differences by a process of imposition which stigmatises the expression of aggression by females and causes women to offer exculpatory (rather than justificatory) accounts of their own aggression."^[20] Research has shown that stimulation of the amygdala induces a delayed and prolonged increase of aggressiveness in male Syrian golden hamsters,^[21] and in the hypothalamus of male rats.^[22] Many studies have examined the correlation between aggression and certain hormones and neurotransmitters, specifically testosterone. However, the link between testosterone and aggression in humans remains unclear.^[23][24][25] A more established negative correlation has been discovered between serotonin and aggression, meaning that higher levels of serotonin are correlated with lower levels of aggression and vice versa.^[26]

[edit] See also

• Genetics of gender
• Feminine essence theory of transsexuality
• Platypus (complex sex chromosomes)
• Prenatal hormones and sexual orientation
• Brain Sex, a book by Anne Moir (geneticist) and David Jessel (journalist)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Kritz, Francesca Lunzer. 'Not Feeling Each Other's Pain: Men and Women Hurt Differently – and Some of The Difference May Really Be in Their Heads'. The Washington Post, 19 December 2006. Page HE01.
• Stanton, Laura, and Maloney, Brenna. 'The Perception of Pain', Washington Post (19 December 2006).
• Marks, Jonathan. 'Essay 8: Primate Behavior'. In The Un-Textbook of Biological Anthropology. Unpublished, 2007.
• Pinker vs. Spelke. 'The Science of Gender and Science'. Edge (The Third Culture) 16 May 2005. (multimedia record of public debate)
• Rabinowicz T, and others. 'Gender differences in the human cerebral cortex: more neurons in males; more processes in females'. Journal of Child Neurology 14 (1999): 98-107.
• Runyan, Andrea. 'Sex Is More Than Socialization'. epowiki, August 18, 2005.
• Shaywitz, BA, and others. 'Sex differences in the functional organisation of the brain for language'. Nature 373 (1995): 607-609.
• Center for Gender-based Biology (University of California, Los Angeles)

[edit] Literature

• Baron-Cohen, Simon. The Essential Difference: The Truth about the Male and Female Brain. New York: Perseus Books Group, 2003.
• Brizendine, Louann. The Female Brain. New York: Morgan Road Books, 2006.
• Brown, Donald E. Human Universals. New York: McGraw Hill, 1991.
• Kimura, Doreen. Sex and Cognition. MIT Press, 1999.
• Moir, Anne and David Jessel. Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men and Women.
• Pinker, Steven. The Blank Slate: A Modern Denial of Human Nature. London: Penguin Books, 2002.

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