Primate brain architecture and selection in relation to sex.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Social and competitive demands often differ between the sexes in mammals. These differing demands should be expected to produce variation in the relative sizes of various brain structures. Sexual selection on males can be predicted to influence brain components handling sensory-motor skills that are important for physical competition or neural pathways involving aggression. Conversely, because female fitness is more closely linked to ecological factors and social interactions that enable better acquisition of resources, social selection on females should select for brain components important for navigating social networks. Sexual and social selection acting on one sex could produce sexual dimorphism in brain structures, which would result in larger species averages for t

SUBMITTER: Lindenfors P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1885794 | biostudies-literature | 2007 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature