PRENATAL SEX HORMONE

EFFECT ON CHILD AND

ADULT SEX-TYPED
BEHAVIOUR
INTRODUCTION
There is now good evidence that human sex-typed behavior is
influenced by sex hormones that are present during prenatal
development.
Most of the evidence comes from clinical population in which
prenatal hormone exposure is atypical for a person’s sex, but
there is increasing evidence from the normal population for
the importance of prenatal hormones.
Events occurring during prenatal development can have life
long-effect on an organism which are not limited to physical
charateristics,but extend to a variety of behavioral traits.
The amount of testosterone or other androgens present during
critical period of prenatal life determine whether they
differentiate into male-typical or female-typical genitalia.
THEORETICAL ISSUES

TIMING OF EFFECTS :There are two types

 Organizational
 Activational effects
FEMINIZATION AS AN ACTIVE OR PASSIVE PROCESS
METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES

EFFECT SIZES: The ability to detect behavioral effect

of hormones as any effect in science that requires
sufficient statistical power
Representative sex differences in behavior
S/N Trait Direction of sex d, size of sex
difference difference

1 Cognitive abilities

a Spatial ability

- Mental rotation M>F Large

- Targeting M>F large

b Verbal ability

- Fluency F>M small to medium

- Memory F>M medium

c Perpetual speed and accuracy F>M small to medium

2 Personality trait

a Sensation seeking M>F medium to large

b Aggression M>F large

c Nurturance F>M medium

d Interest in babies F>M medium to large

3 Gender role behavior

a Interest in female typical activity F>M very large

b Interest in male typical activity M>F very large

c Preference for boys as playmate M>F very large

d Preference for girls as playmates F>M very large

4 Sexual orientation

a Arousal to females M>F very large

b Arousal to males F>M very large

STUDIES IN CLINICAL POPULATION: Involves
those whose hormones where unusual because of disease or
accident. Early studies in animals showing behavioral effect
of early hormones prompted studies of people with a typical
hormone exposure.
a) Congenital adrenal hyperplasia: A genetic disorder due
to 21-hydroxylase deficiency with incidence of 1 in 10000 to
1 in 15000.
b) Exposure to masculinising hormones via maternal
ingestion: There are two drugs expected to have relatively
specific masculinising effect;synthetic progestins and
diethystilbestrol.
c) 46,xy individuals without penis: There are two situations
in which a boy might be lacking a penis;cloacal exstrophy
and ablatio penis.
 STUDIES IN TYPICAL POPULATION: Has a direct and
indirect indicator of prenatal hormone. The Direct
indicator involves direct measure of fetal hormones
taken serially at many points in gestation to ensure
reliable measures of the hormones at sensitive periods.
a) Studies of prenatal hormone obtained from maternal
serum by venipuncture.
b) Studies of hormone in umbilical cord blood.
 Co-twin sex as an indirect indicator of prenatal
hormones:
c) Opposite -sex twins
CONTINUED
Biological markers as indirect indicator of prenatal
hormones. these markers are dermatoglyphics,finger
ratio and otoacoustic
emissions.
a) Dermatoglyphics: There are two indices used:
 Total finger ridge count
 Asymmetry of ridge count on two hands.
b) Pubertal onset: Involves the sex differences in
physical maturation.
 Our ability to study this topic in multiple ways will
also enable us to understand the details of human
behavioral effects of hormones such as the key
sensitive periods, forms of androgen most important
for different aspect of behavioral masculinisation and
the extent to which androgen effects are modified by
other hormones. Infact, studies of the behavioral
effects of prenatal hormones provide a rich
opportunity to unravel and document the oft-cited
but poorly studied transactions between biology and
the social environment.
 REFERENCE
Celina C.C Cohen-
Bendahan,Cornelieke Van de
Beek,Sheri A. Berenbaum. Method and
findings of prenatal sex-typed
behavior: Neuroscience biobehavioral
Review 29(2005) 353-384.