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Donald W. Pfaff
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Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.001.0001
EISBN: 9780262281546
What arouses an animal or human from an inactive, nonresponsive state to a condition of activity and responsiveness? What are the biological mechanisms for this change? In this book Donald W. Pfaff focuses on a reproductive behavior typical of many female animals. Sensory stimuli from the male trigger responses in a well-defined circuit of nerve cells. At the top of the circuit, certain nerve cells receive and retain sex hormones such as estrogens and progesterone. As a result, specific genes in these nerve cells are turned on at specific times, affecting in turn the rest of the neural circuit and causing a state of sexual responsiveness. According to Pfaff, the biological bases for the most primitive human drives are largely explained by mechanisms uncovered in animal brains that have not changed in their fundamental properties over millions of years of evolution. Focusing on a single instinctive behavior, in this case the sex drive, is an important step toward understanding the biological reasons for the change from unmotivated to motivated animal behavior.
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0001
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0002
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0003
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0004
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0005
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0006
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0007
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0008
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0009
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0010
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0011
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0012
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0013
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0014
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0015
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0016
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0017
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0018
EISBN: 9780262281546
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 29 September 1999
DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/2502.003.0019
EISBN: 9780262281546