Biology/hormones
Advertisement
Question
at what age/s do the hormones testosterone and oestrogen start to be produced and when do they start to have an effect on the human system?
Hi Susan: Although this is obviously a homework question, here's a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puberty
You shouldn't be asking homework questions on this site!
FM Rollwagen, PhD
Followup:
Hi Susan: Sorry about my mistake. You would not believe how many homework questions I get!
In response to your followup question, sex steroids are produced by both genders, but in different amounts. At puberty, sex steroid production increases dramatically, giving rise to the secondary sex characteristics that we all know.
I’ve included some references that I’ve gleaned from the internet. I searched “testosterone production puberty” and “estrogen production puberty” and got a few numbers
Serum estradiol levels in prepubertal girls <26-73 pmol/l, in boys it’s 0.3 pmol/l
Compared to adult women 44-918 pmol/l)
Serum testosterone levels in prepubertal girls is undetectable
Compared to adult women (600-2400 pmol/l
(ref: https://jyx.jyu.fi/dspace/bitstream/handle/123456789/9296/G0000431.pdf?sequence=1)
Here’s an article about exogenous sex steroids in children, but it has baseline levels:
http://humupd.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/12/4/341
Wikipedia has some good articles on the functions of sex steroids on various parts of the body (brain, for example)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testosterone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estradiol
I also did a search on “gender stereotyping” and found more information
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_1_40/ai_54250823
http://gozips.uakron.edu/~susan8/parinf.htm
http://news.illinois.edu/NEWS/05/0726math.html
Hope this helps! Write back if you have more questions.
FM Rollwagen, PhD
- Add to this Answer
- Ask a Question
| Rating(1-10) | Knowledgeability = 10 | Clarity of Response = 10 | Politeness = 4 |
| Comment | Many thanks Florence, for your reply. However,in future,I'd like you to be more careful with your assumptions. My questiion was NOT related to homework. I am a 64 year old person who is concerned about the way younger friends define their male/female toddler's behaviours in terms of these two hormones. Before approaching them with my concerns I wanted to have some facts (ie, how can toddlers be behaviourally influenced by hormones that don't yet exist in their bodies)to back my arguement that their doing this amounts to sexism and that this sexism is not good for their children. Perhaps it would have been better if I had explained myslf more fully in the first instance. Once again thanks for responding. | ||
Related Articles
- Conditions That Often Cause Sexual Problems - Great Sex
- The Basics of Testosterone and Testosterone Levels
- Puberty 101 Guide for Parents - How Is Puberty the Same for Both Sexes
- Talking with your school age child about sex – sex education with school aged children
- Sex Addiction - Addiction and Recovery
Answers by Expert:
Florence M Rollwagen
Expertise
I can answer questions in biology, microbiology and immunology on the undergraduate or graduate level. I can also address medical and health concerns regarding alternative medicine, autoimmune diseases (lupus, MS) liver disease and intestinal problems.
Experience
I have over 20 years experience in research and teaching at the medical/graduate level, and 5 years teaching college biology and microbiology. My expertise is in microbiology and immunology, specifically the biology of cytokines and soluble immune response modifiers. I also carried out original research in blood substitutes and shock/trauma.
Organizations
American Association of Immunologists (AAI)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Publications
Journal of Experimental Medicine, Journal of Immunology, Cytokine, Shock, Experimental Hematology
Education/Credentials
BS biology 1966
MS biology 1968
PhD immunology 1979
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.