NSC 205 - Sex, Gender & the Brain

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR (students beginning prior to Fall 2024): Meets general academic requirement SC.
Meets Explore Core requirement (students beginning Fall 2024 and later): NP
We will explore the biological and neurobiological basis for sex/gender differences across many species, including humans. We will briefly discuss evolutionary explanations: Why did sex evolve? What evolutionary mechanisms lead to sex differences? We will examine genetic, hormonal, and neural explanations. In many species, adults change sex – how does this happen? Are there sex differences in certain areas of the brain? If so, how are these neural differences related to behavior? How do lived experiences contribute to sex/gender differences? We will explore why neuroscientists often ignore the sex/gender of their study subjects, and we will contemplate the consequences of considering sex/gender as meaningful characteristics within neuroscience.