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Volume 7 Issue 10, October 2004

Scientists are making great strides in understanding how the brain determines and is influenced by our sexuality. This month, we highlight several areas of research in this fascinating (and at times controversial) field. Two reviews discuss sexual differentiation of the brain and behavior during development, puberty and adulthood. A third review examines the neural basis of a complex sex-related social behavior, pair bonding. The controversy and ethical issues surrounding the scientific study of sexual behavior are discussed in an accompanying commentary. Cover image: "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt. (pp 1029-1054)

Volume 7 Issue 10

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Editorial

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Correspondence

    • Michael Brammer
    Correspondence
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Book Review

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News & Views

  • In C. elegans, dopamine signaling regulates locomotion behavior. Chase and colleagues report that this signaling occurs through extrasynaptic and antagonistically acting receptors coexpressed in motor neurons. These results provide surprising insights into the G-protein pathways mediating this antagonism, with implications for dopamine signaling across species.

    • Erik M Jorgensen
    News & Views

  • Syncytin is a viral envelope protein encoded in the human genome. New work in this issue indicates that it is activated in multiple sclerosis astrocytes and microglia, contributing to the inflammation-induced myelin destruction that causes disease symptoms.

    • Mark P Mattson
    • Dennis D Taub
    News & Views

  • Monkeys and humans work harder for immediate than for distant rewards. How are associations between reward immediacy and sensory stimuli established in the brain? A recent study suggests a crucial role for dopamine-mediated activity in the rhinal cortex.

    • Gregory D Horwitz
    • Edward M Callaway
    News & Views

  • Many primitive movements, such as swimming or scratching, are rhythmic. An imaging study now suggests that complex discrete movements may simply be a special case of rhythmic movements, in which they are stopped after only one cycle.

    • R Christopher Miall
    • Richard Ivry
    News & Views
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Obituary

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Introduction

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Commentary

  • The potential benefits of neuroscientific research into sexuality are great, but neuroscientists must participate in debates over the social, forensic and therapeutic implications of their findings. If serious research in sexuality is to be supported by the public, researchers must continue to earn society's trust with responsible and thoughtful presentation of their work.

    • Paul R Wolpe
    Commentary
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Review Article

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Brief Communication

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Article

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Technical Report

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Focus

  • This focus examines the sexual development and differentiation of the brain, as well as the brain circuits behind pair bonding, a sex-associated social behavior. An accompanying commentary raises ethical issues that must be considered when studying such a complex (and controversial) topic as human sexuality. These articles are freely available for the month of October.

    Focus
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