The Gray Box

How Understanding the Brain Makes us More Tolerant

The neurology and endocrinology underlying the sexual impulses in teenagers has been widely ignored in the debate regarding sexual education. All behaviors have some sort of biological or neurological basis, and understanding what underlies sexual behavior might lead to a more empirically supported—and ultimately better—way of addressing the problem with sexual education in schools. Hormones like estrogens and testosterone ensure that we have the appropriate physiology to reproduce, but also push us to engage in sexual intercourse (which is both risky and extenuating on the body) to ensure the survival of the human race.

The Birth Control Pill

Birth control pills work by providing your body with a dose of estrogen and progesterone that prevents ovulations. Like everything we put inside our bodies, it’s effect is not specific to the reproductive organs, but rather a generalized effect. It is also worth noting that hormones can work as neurotransmitters, affecting the brain and nervous system directly.

The Biology of Homosexuality

The hypothalamus regulates what we call the 4 F’s: fighting, fleeing, feeding, and mating. In the first half of the 1990’s, scientist Simon LeVay found a nucleus in the hypothalamus that has a statistically significant difference between sexes, the INAH3. Later on, he found that the difference has more to do with sexual orientation than sexual identity.

Your Brain in Love

Out of 166 human societies that have been studied, romantic love has been found in around 90% of them. This serves as evidence that romantic love is not only a staple of the human condition, but beyond that it seems to have an evolutionary advantage. If not, it would not have evolved independently in different cultures.

Why Abstinence Only Education Doesn’t Work: A Neurobiological Perspective

The neurology and endocrinology underlying the sexual impulses in teenagers has been widely ignored in the debate regarding sexual education. All behaviors have some sort of biological or neurological basis, and understanding what underlies sexual behavior might lead to a more empirically supported—and ultimately better—way of addressing the problem with sexual education in schools. Hormones like estrogens and testosterone ensure that we have the appropriate physiology to reproduce, but also push us to engage in sexual intercourse (which is both risky and extenuating on the body) to ensure the survival of the human race.