MARQUETTE, Mich.—“Sex on the Brain: Neural Feminization, Masculinization and Those That Go Both Ways” is the next presentation in the Northern Michigan University psychology department’s colloquium series. The event will be held from 3-5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, in 167 Gries Hall. The public is invited free of charge

            Erich Ottem, an NMU biology professor, will discuss several sexually dimorphic neural structures that have been characterized in many mammalian species, including humans. For most of these brain regions, the presence of absence of testosterone exposure during prenatal development determines whether feminization or masculinization will occur.

Ottem will discuss some of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that give rise to neural sex differences in a variety of mammalian species. He will also review related research and describe areas of the brain that continue to be responsive to gonadal hormones in adulthood and exhibit plasticity in structure in response to a changing hormone environment.

For more information, contact the psychology department at 227-2935.