Evolutionary changes in the physiological control of mating behavior in mammals.

Beach, Frank A.

doi:10.1037/h0056549

Cited by 100 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…This shift in the reproductive biology of ancestral simians was accompanied by several other developments including the emergence of menstruation, development of a single-chambered (simplex) uterus, relaxation of hormonal control of reproduction, consolidation of diurnal habits (including development of color vision), significantly increased brain size and perhaps the formation of multimale groups. It was explicitly proposed some time ago that relative emancipation from hormonal control of reproduction in simian primates went hand-in-hand with increased behavioral sophistication (Beach, 1947), which in turn connects up with the increase in brain size. It is highly likely that most or all of these inferred ancestral simian features are interconnected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of human reproduction: A primatological perspective

Martín

2007

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

208

143

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Successful reconstruction of any aspect of human evolution ideally requires broad-based comparisons with other primates, as recognition of general principles provides a more reliable foundation for inference. Indeed, in many cases it is necessary to conduct comparisons with other placental mammals to test interpretations. This review considers comparative evidence with respect to the following topics relating to human reproduction: (1) size of the testes, sperm, and baculum; (2) ovarian processes and mating cyclicity; (3) placentation and embryonic membranes; (4) gestation period and neonatal condition; (5) brain development in relation to reproduction; and (6) suckling and age at weaning. Relative testis size, the size of the sperm midpiece, and perhaps the absence of a baculum indicate that humans are adapted for a mating system in which sperm competition was not a major factor. Because sizes of mammalian gametes do not increase with body size, they are increasingly dwarfed by the size of the female reproductive tract as body size increases. The implications of this have yet to be explored. Primates have long ovarian cycles and humans show an average pattern. Menstruation is completely lacking in strepsirrhine primates, possibly weakly present in tarsiers and variably expressed in simians. The only other mammals reliably reported to show menstruation are bats. Three hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolution of menstruation (eliminating sperm-borne pathogens; reducing the metabolic cost of a prepared uterine lining; occurrence as a side-effect of physiological changes), but no consensus has emerged. Copulation at times other than the periovulatory period is not unique to humans, and its occurrence during pregnancy is widespread among mammals. Although the human condition is extreme, extended copulation during the ovarian cycle is the norm among simian primates, in stark contrast to prosimians, in which mating is typically restricted to a few days when the female is in oestrus. The model of regular mid-cycle ovulation in simians is questionable. Gestation periods calculated on that basis show greater variability than in other mammals, and evidence from laboratory breeding colonies indicates that an extended mating period is matched by an extended period in which conception can occur. New evidence indicates that the noninvasive placentation found in strepsirrhine primates is not primitive after all. Furthermore, comparative studies reveal that such noninvasive placentation is not ''inefficient''. Evolution of highly invasive placentation in haplorhine primates is probably linked instead to immunological factors. Primates have relatively long gestation periods, and humans are average in this respect. However, there is evidence that humans show greater maternal investment during pregnancy in comparison with apes. Although the human neonate matches the typical precocial pattern of primates in most respects, a fetal pattern of brain growth continues for a year after birth, such that the human inf...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of human reproduction: A primatological perspective

Martín

2007

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

208

143

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“…The frequent "following" and "mounting" of males by males of their own species (4 and 13) is bisexual behavior in the sense defined by- Beach (1944). Males of P. caprodes are often followed by their own males (4), or males and females of other species are often followed as long as they do not exhibit male characteristics of their own species (6, 8, 9, 10) or the two sexes are not attacked if they move directly and jerkily into the territory (12).…”

Section: Ritualized Fights Between Males May Occur Because the Territmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Reproductive Behavior and Ecology of Fourteen Species of Darters (Pisces‐Percidae)

Winn¹

1958

Ecological Monographs

195

133

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Ecological Society of America is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Ecological Monographs.

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“…In all other mammalian species that have been studied, estradiol is critical for the expression of species-typical female sexual behavior–female rodents, ungulates, and carnivores all cease mating following ovariectomy, and female mating behavior can be reinstated by exogenous estradiol, without an accompanying androgen (for review see Beach, 1947; Wallen, 1990; 2013). The hormonal modulation of female sexual motivation has been particularly well studied in rhesus monkeys, which share many aspects of reproductive biology in common with women, including an approximately 28 day menstrual cycle with nearly identical patterns of hormonal fluctuation (Wallen et al, 1984; Wilson et al, 1982).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing women's sexual desire: The comparative effectiveness of estrogens and androgens

Cappelletti

Wallen

2016

Hormones and Behavior

142

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Both estradiol and testosterone have been implicated as the steroid critical for modulating women’s sexual desire. By contrast, in all other female mammals only estradiol has been shown to be critical for female sexual motivation and behavior. Pharmaceutical companies have invested heavily in the development of androgen therapies for female sexual desire disorders, but today there are still no FDA approved androgen therapies for women. Nonetheless, testosterone is currently, and frequently, prescribed off-label for the treatment of low sexual desire in women, and the idea of testosterone as a cure-all for female sexual dysfunction remains popular. This paper places the ongoing debate concerning the hormonal modulation of women’s sexual desire within a historical context, and reviews controlled trials of estrogen and/or androgen therapies for low sexual desire in postmenopausal women. These studies demonstrate that estrogen-only therapies that produce periovulatory levels of circulating estradiol increase sexual desire in postmenopausal women. Testosterone at supraphysiological, but not at physiological, levels enhances the effectiveness of low-dose estrogen therapies at increasing women’s sexual desire; however, the mechanism by which supraphysiological testosterone increases women’s sexual desire in combination with an estrogen remains unknown. Because effective therapies require supraphysiological amounts of testosterone, it remains unclear whether endogenous testosterone contributes to the modulation of women’s sexual desire. The likelihood that an androgen-only clinical treatment will meaningfully increase women’s sexual desire is minimal, and the focus of pharmaceutical companies on the development of androgen therapies for the treatment of female sexual desire disorders is likely misplaced.

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Evolutionary changes in the physiological control of mating behavior in mammals.

Cited by 100 publications

References 87 publications

The evolution of human reproduction: A primatological perspective

The evolution of human reproduction: A primatological perspective

Comparative Reproductive Behavior and Ecology of Fourteen Species of Darters (Pisces‐Percidae)

Increasing women's sexual desire: The comparative effectiveness of estrogens and androgens

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