- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Foreword
- Preface
- Introduction
- Contributors
- Chapter 1 Why Are There Two Sexes?
- Chapter 2 Sex Differences in the Brain: What’s Old and What’s New?
- Chapter 3 Research and Methodological Issues in the Study of Sex Differences and Hormone-Behavior Relations
- Chapter 4 Methodological Issues in the Study of Hormone-Behavior Relations in Humans: Understanding and Monitoring the Menstrual Cycle
- Chapter 5 Sex Differences in Pharmacogenomics as a Tool to Study CNS Disorders
- Chapter 6 Sex Differences in HPA Axis Regulation
- Chapter 7 Steroid Hormone Receptors and Sex Differences in Behavior
- Chapter 8 Sex Differences in Affiliative Behavior and Social Bonding
- Chapter 9 Sex Differences in the Organization of Movement
- Chapter 10 Sex Differences in Motivation
- Chapter 11 Sex Differences in Neuroplasticity
- Chapter 12 Sex Differences in Cognitive Function in Rodents
- Chapter 13 Sex Differences in Energy Metabolism, Obesity, and Eating Behavior
- Chapter 14 Sex Differences in Children’s Play
- Chapter 15 Sex Differences in the Neurocognition of Language
- Chapter 16 Endocrine Contributions to Sex Differences in Visuospatial Perception and Cognition
- Chapter 17 Sex Differences in Infectious and Autoimmune Diseases
- Chapter 18 Sex Differences in Neuroimmunology
- Chapter 19 Sex Differences in Pain
- Chapter 20 Sex Differences in Anxiety Disorders
- Chapter 21 Hormones and Mood
- Chapter 22 Sex Differences in Brain Aging and Alzheimer’s Disorders
- Chapter 23 Sex Differences in Parkinson’s Disease
- References
- Index
Sex Differences in Motivation
Sex Differences in Motivation
- Chapter:
- (p.177) Chapter 10 Sex Differences in Motivation
- Source:
- Sex Differences in the Brain
- Author(s):
Jill B. Becker
Jane R. Taylor
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This chapter develops the thesis that sexually dimorphic development of the neural systems involved in motivation has evolved due to sex differences in care of young. It proposes that sex differences in the neural systems important for maternal motivation result in sex differences in motivated behaviors in general. In particular, the greater oxytocin projection to the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) in females is hypothesized to play an important role in these sex differences. In addition, there are effects of gonadal hormones that modulate the reward system. Specifically, estradiol enhances the rewarding value of potential targets, while progesterone counteracts the effect of estradiol.
Keywords: sex differences, maternal motivation, neural systems, oxytocin, nucleus accumbens, gonadal hormones, estradiol
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- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Foreword
- Preface
- Introduction
- Contributors
- Chapter 1 Why Are There Two Sexes?
- Chapter 2 Sex Differences in the Brain: What’s Old and What’s New?
- Chapter 3 Research and Methodological Issues in the Study of Sex Differences and Hormone-Behavior Relations
- Chapter 4 Methodological Issues in the Study of Hormone-Behavior Relations in Humans: Understanding and Monitoring the Menstrual Cycle
- Chapter 5 Sex Differences in Pharmacogenomics as a Tool to Study CNS Disorders
- Chapter 6 Sex Differences in HPA Axis Regulation
- Chapter 7 Steroid Hormone Receptors and Sex Differences in Behavior
- Chapter 8 Sex Differences in Affiliative Behavior and Social Bonding
- Chapter 9 Sex Differences in the Organization of Movement
- Chapter 10 Sex Differences in Motivation
- Chapter 11 Sex Differences in Neuroplasticity
- Chapter 12 Sex Differences in Cognitive Function in Rodents
- Chapter 13 Sex Differences in Energy Metabolism, Obesity, and Eating Behavior
- Chapter 14 Sex Differences in Children’s Play
- Chapter 15 Sex Differences in the Neurocognition of Language
- Chapter 16 Endocrine Contributions to Sex Differences in Visuospatial Perception and Cognition
- Chapter 17 Sex Differences in Infectious and Autoimmune Diseases
- Chapter 18 Sex Differences in Neuroimmunology
- Chapter 19 Sex Differences in Pain
- Chapter 20 Sex Differences in Anxiety Disorders
- Chapter 21 Hormones and Mood
- Chapter 22 Sex Differences in Brain Aging and Alzheimer’s Disorders
- Chapter 23 Sex Differences in Parkinson’s Disease
- References
- Index