Profs and Pints Online presents: “Sex on the Brain,” a look at the science of sex differences, gender, and sexual orientation, with Bradley M. Cooke, adjunct associate professor of neuroscience and psychology at Georgia State University.

[This talk will remain available in recorded form at the link given here for tickets and access.]

What makes someone gay or straight? Are there sex-based physical differences in brain structure that control behavior? To what extent is gender-typical behavior learned? What happens in the brain when we fall in love, and how do early experiences affect our ability to form attachments?

Brad Cooke has sought the answers to such questions for more than 20 years, with research that included conducting studies of social behavior in laboratory animals, distributing questionnaires at Pride festivals, and examining the ultramicroscopic synaptic connections between neurons. In this online, interactive talk he will share his findings, as well as those of other scientists who’ve made seminal contributions to our understanding of sex differences, love, and attachment.

He'll focus on what we know about the origins of sex differences in the brain, the causes of homosexuality, and the reciprocal relationships between gonadal hormones, behavior, and brain structure known as neural plasticity. He'll also talk about what studies of finger-length ratios have taught us about sexual orientation, and some of the cutting-edge techniques used to study brain structure and function.

You'll leave with a much greater understanding of why we desire those we desire.

Profs & Pints Online: Sex on the Brain