The human stress response has been characterized, both physiologically and behaviorally, as "fight-or-flight." Although fight-or-flight may characterize the primary physiological responses to stress for both males and females, we propose that, behaviorally, females' responses are more marked by a pattern of "tend-and-befriend." Tending involves nurturant activities designed to protect the self and offspring that promote safety and reduce distress; befriending is the creation and maintenance of social networks that may aid in this process. The biobehavioral mechanism that underlies the tend-and-befriend pattern appears to draw on the attachment-caregiving system, and neuroendocrine evidence from animal and human studies suggests that oxytocin, in conjunction with female reproductive hormones and endogenous opioid peptide mechanisms, may be at its core. This previously unexplored stress regulatory system has manifold implications for the study of stress.

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Biobehavioral responses to stress in females: tend-and-befriend, not fight-or-flight.

For decades, studies of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have challenged traditional concepts in toxicology, in particular the dogma of “the dose makes the poison,” because EDCs can have effects at low doses that are not predicted by effects at higher doses. Here, we review two major concepts in EDC studies: low dose and nonmonotonicity. Low-dose effects were defined by the National Toxicology Program as those that occur in the range of human exposures or effects observed at doses below those used for traditional toxicological studies. We review the mechanistic data for low-dose effects and use a weight-of-evidence approach to analyze five examples from the EDC literature. Additionally, we explore nonmonotonic dose-response curves, defined as a nonlinear relationship between dose and effect where the slope of the curve changes sign somewhere within the range of doses examined. We provide a detailed discussion of the mechanisms responsible for generating these phenomena, plus hundreds of examples from...

/pdf/hormones-and-endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-low-dose-effects-2vn32zoqc8.pdf

Hormones and endocrine-disrupting chemicals: Low-dose effects and nonmonotonic dose responses

The concept of "reproductive strategy" drawn from the field of behavioral ecology is applied to the study of childhood experience and interpersonal development in order to develop an evolutionary theory of socialization. The theory is presented in terms of 2 divergent development pathways considered to promote reproductive success in the contexts in which they have arisen. One is characterized, in childhood, by a stressful rearing environment and the development of insecure attachments to parents and subsequent behavior problems; in adolescence by early pubertal development and precocious sexuality; and, in adulthood, by unstable pair bonds and limited investment in child rearing, whereas the other is characterized by the opposite. The relation between this theory and prevailing theories of socialization, specifically, attachment, social-learning, and discrete-emotions theory, is considered and research consistent with our evolutionary theory is reviewed. Finally, directions for future research are discussed.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1131166.pdf

Childhood Experience, Interpersonal Development, and Reproductive Strategy: An Evolutionary Theory of Socialization.

Why do some people prefer heterosexual love while others fancy the same sex? Is sexual identity biologically determined or a product of convention? In this brilliant and provocative book, the acclaimed author of Myths of Gender argues that even the most fundamental knowledge about sex is shaped by the culture in which scientific knowledge is produced.Drawing on astonishing real-life cases and a probing analysis of centuries of scientific research, Fausto-Sterling demonstrates how scientists have historically politicized the body. In lively and impassioned prose, she breaks down three key dualisms - sex/gender, nature/nurture, and real/constructed - and asserts that individuals born as mixtures of male and female exist as one of five natural human variants and, as such, should not be forced to compromise their differences to fit a flawed societal definition of normality.

Sexing the body :gender politics and the construction ofsexuality

"Sexual Behavior in the Human Female" was originally published in 1953, five years after the male volume. The material presented in this book was derived from personal interviews with nearly 6,000 women; from studies in sexual Anatomy, Physiology, Psychology, and Endocrinology. The book presents data on the incidence and frequency with which women participate in various types of sexual activity. The authors show how such factors as age, decade of birth, and religious adherence are reflected in patterns of sexual behavior. Some measure of the social significance of the various types of sexual behavior is provided. The authors make comparisons of female and male sexual activities, and investigate the factors which account for the similarities and differences between female and male patterns of behavior.

Sexual Behavior in the Human Female

The sexual behavior of male and female guinea pigs from mothers receiving testosterone propionate during most of pregnancy was studied after the attainment of adulthood. As a part of the investigation, the responsiveness of the females to estradiol benzoate and progesterone and to testosterone propionate was determined. The larger quantities of testosterone propionate produced hermaphrodites having external genitalia indistinguishable macroscopicalty from those of newborn males. Gonadectomized animals of this type were used for tests of their responsiveness to estradiol benzoate and progesterone and to testosterone propionate. The capacity to display lordosis following administration of estrogen and progesterone was greatly reduced. Male-like mounting behavior, on the other hand, was displayed by many of these animals even when lordosis could not be elicited. Suppression of the capacity for displaying lordosis was achieved with a quantity of androgen less than that required for masculinization of the exte...

Organizing action of prenatally administered testosterone propionate on the tissues mediating mating behavior in the female guinea pig.

Many investigators have directed attention to the close relationship between the reactivity of tissues, sometimes referred to as sensitivity or responsiveness, and the degree of response to hormonal stimulation. The literature in which the subject is discussed has never been reviewed completely, but a few references will indicate something of the extent to which differences in reactivity influence endocrine function. Smith and Engle (1927) reported that the response of immature rats and mice to pituitary transplants increased with age; that in older animals fewer transplants were required to produce precocious sexual maturity. Bradbury (1944) and McCormack and Elden (1945) found an inherent seasonal variation in the sensitivity of the rabbit to pituitary extracts. Albright, Burnett, Smith, and Parson (1942) presented evidence that in certain clinical cases of idiopathic hypoparathyroidism the disturbance was not a lack of hormone, rather a resistance to it. Selye and Albert (1942) described a differential...

Differential reactivity of individuals and the response of the male guinea pig to testosterone propionate1

Experiential and genetic factors in the organization of sexual behavior in male guinea pigs.

Consistency of sexual behavior patterns in individual male guinea pigs following castration and androgen therapy.

Using females from the highly inbred strains 2 and 13 and from a genetically heterogeneous stock (strain T), five measures of sexual behavior were investigated tfor the consistency with which they are displayed by each strain when equal and different quantities of α-estradiol benzoate are followed by a constant amount of progesterone. The five measures were 1) latency of estrus, 2) duration of estrus, 3) duration of the maximum lordosis, 4) frequency of male-like mounting, and 5) per cent of animals brought into heat by the treatment. From strain to strain there are consistent differences in the five measures. Strain 2 females show the shortest latencies, the longest duration of estrus, the least male-like mounting behavior, and the highest responsiveness to the estrogen. Their maximum lordosis which is intermediate in length is exhibited during the third hour of heat. Strain T females are characterized by long latencies, relatively short heat periods, and are intermediate with respect to mounting behavior and their responsiveness to α-estradiol benzoate. Their mean maximum lordosis is shortest and is exhibited during the first hour of heat. Strain 13 females display a latency and duration of heat similar to those which characterize the strain T females, but more male-like mounting than the other animals. They are least responsive to the estrogen. The mean maximum lordosis which is longest in this strain appears during the second hour of heat. The sexual vigor of strains 2 and 13 is greater than that of the strain T females. This order is opposite that in males from the same strains. The relatively vigorous sexual behavior of the inbred females is postulated to be of value for the perpetuation of these strains. Latency varied inversely and duration of heat directly with increases in the amount of α-estradiol benzoate, although with respect to the length of time that vigorous lordoses were elicited, above-threshold quantities were without effect on the response. Duration of lordosis and the frequency of mounting were not effected by changes in the amount of hormone. In general, therefore, the principle established for the male, that supra-liminal quantities of gonadal hormone do not alter the characteristic pattern of the behavior, can be extended to the female. The distinction between responsiveness to the hormone and vigor of the reaction is discussed.

William C. Young

Papers

Organizing action of prenatally administered testosterone propionate on the tissues mediating mating behavior in the female guinea pig.

Differential reactivity of individuals and the response of the male guinea pig to testosterone propionate1

Experiential and genetic factors in the organization of sexual behavior in male guinea pigs.

Consistency of sexual behavior patterns in individual male guinea pigs following castration and androgen therapy.

Strain Differences in the Behavioral Responses of Female Guinea Pigs To Alpha-Estradiol Benzoate and Progesterone 1)