Deck 6: Female Reproductive Behavior

Question 1

The post-ovulatory rise in progesterone levels can be attributed to

A) positive feedback at the level of the pituitary.
B) the corpus luteum.
C) negative feedback at the level of the pituitary.
D) Both a and b

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which statement about female attractiveness is false?

A) Attractiveness is the stimulus value of a female for a given male.
B) Ovariectomized females are less attractive than intact females.
C) Female attractiveness is also referred to as proceptive behavior.
D) Attractiveness tends to coincide with receptivity in the female's cycle.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

During which part of the vaginal estrous cycle will female rats become receptive to copulation?

A) Estrus
B) Diestrus I
C) Diestrus II
D) Proestrus

Answer 3

D

Question 4

What region of the brain governs muscles that control lordosis?

A) Medullary reticular formation
B) Midbrain central gray region
C) Ventromedial hypothalamus
D) Preoptic area of the hypothalamus

Question 5

Locomotor activity is greatest in females when

A) estrogen is highest.
B) estrogen is lowest.
C) progesterone is highest.
D) supplemental testosterone and progesterone are given to ovariectomized animals.

Question 6

Coincident with human female ovulation, there is a surge in

A) LH and FSH only.
B) FSH and estradiol only.
C) LH, FSH, and estradiol only.
D) LH, FSH, estradiol, and progesterone.

Question 7

The post-ovulatory rise in progesterone levels can be attributed to

A) positive feedback at the level of the pituitary.
B) the corpus luteum.
C) negative feedback at the level of the pituitary.
D) Both a and b

Question 8

Most rodent pregnancies in nature occur as a result of mating during the

A) estrous phase of recurring estrous cycles.
B) postpartum estrus.
C) winter.
D) diestrus phase.

Question 9

Which of the following is a component of the consummatory phase during female rodent sexual behavior?

A) Hopping
B) Courtship
C) Darting
D) Lordosis

Question 10

The length of the estrous cycle in female laboratory rats is

A) 6 months.
B) 4-5 days.
C) 4 weeks.
D) None of the above; rodents lack an estrous cycle.

Question 11

Components of female sexual behavior include

A) attractivity.
B) approachability.
C) proceptivity.
D) Both a and c

Question 12

Female juvenile mice might experience an acceleration of puberty due to early exposure to adult male urine. This _______ effect occurs because male urine _______ GnRH release.

A) Bruce; inhibits
B) Vandenbergh; induces
C) Lee-Boot; suppresses
D) Whitten; induces

Question 13

Female mice will abort or resorb their fetuses in the presence of a strange male. This is called the

A) Coriolis effect.
B) Coolidge effect.
C) Bruce effect.
D) corpus luteum.

Question 14

Estrous cycles are shorter in mice than humans because

A) mice are smaller than humans.
B) cycle length represents an adaptation to maximize reproductive success.
C) mice have more fetuses per pregnancy than humans.
D) type 3 cycles last longer than type 1 cycles.

Question 15

What is the significance of the "vaginal code?"

A) The pattern of mounts and intromissions ensures that the corpus luteum will be maintained.
B) The pattern of olfactory and visual cues from the male ensures that the female will be vaginally receptive to copulation.
C) It is the chemical signal (pheromone) found on the skin of the vagina that signals males of the appropriate species that the female is in estrus.
D) It is the number of intromissions for a given female that will result in orgasm.

Question 16

How does the menstrual cycle differ from the estrous cycle?

A) Progesterone levels are elevated after ovulation in the menstrual cycle, whereas in the estrous cycle progesterone levels peak before ovulation.
B) The menstrual cycle comprises a luteal phase; a short estrous cycle does not, unless pregnancy occurs.
C) Estradiol levels are low during menstruation, whereas in the estrous cycle they are low during diestrus.
D) All of the above

Question 17

Female rodent attractiveness is not influenced by their

A) position in the uterine horn during gestation.
B) phase in the estrous cycle.
C) FOS activation in their POA.
D) exposure to prenatal androgens.

Question 18

Define proceptivity.

Question 19

List three neural sites involved in the regulation of female sex behavior.

Question 20

Match the effect to its correct definition.
Synchronization of estrous induction in females

A) Lee-Boot effect
B) Bruce effect
C) Vandenbergh effect
D) Whitten effect
_______ Synchronization of estrous induction in females
_______ Extended estrous stage in the absence of a male
_______ Early puberty onset in female with presence of a male
_______ Termination of pregnancy in the presence of a novel male

Question 21

Match the effect to its correct definition.
Extended estrous stage in the absence of a male

A) Lee-Boot effect
B) Bruce effect
C) Vandenbergh effect
D) Whitten effect
_______ Synchronization of estrous induction in females
_______ Extended estrous stage in the absence of a male
_______ Early puberty onset in female with presence of a male
_______ Termination of pregnancy in the presence of a novel male

Question 22

Match the effect to its correct definition.
Early puberty onset in female with presence of a male

A) Lee-Boot effect
B) Bruce effect
C) Vandenbergh effect
D) Whitten effect
_______ Synchronization of estrous induction in females
_______ Extended estrous stage in the absence of a male
_______ Early puberty onset in female with presence of a male
_______ Termination of pregnancy in the presence of a novel male

Question 23

Match the effect to its correct definition.
Termination of pregnancy in the presence of a novel male

A) Lee-Boot effect
B) Bruce effect
C) Vandenbergh effect
D) Whitten effect
_______ Synchronization of estrous induction in females
_______ Extended estrous stage in the absence of a male
_______ Early puberty onset in female with presence of a male
_______ Termination of pregnancy in the presence of a novel male

Question 24

Define the term "pheromone" and describe the role of pheromones in female reproductive behavior.

Question 25

Discuss what happens to the timing of puberty of young female mice that are housed with adult males. With adult females? What is this effect called?

Question 26

Describe the co-variation between male rodents' copulatory behavior and the stimuli required to initiate pregnancy in their female counterparts.

Question 27

Compare and contrast the reproductive cycles of prey and predator species. Provide relative advantages of both.

Question 28

Why do you think female reproductive behaviors are suppressed by illness, while male reproductive behaviors are not? What is the evolutionary significance of this?

Question 29

Provide two examples of how pheromones can affect puberty or the ovulatory cycle in females. Make sure to provide the name of the phenomenon for each and describe the phenomenon.

Question 30

Describe the pattern of hormones necessary to stimulate proceptive behavior in female rats and nonhuman primates. Assuming hormones stimulate female sexual motivation to coincide with the time of maximal fertility, briefly describe why the hormones stimulating sexual behavior have likely evolved differently in rodents and non-human primates.