Tagged Questions

2
votes
1answer
22 views

Is there a comprehensive list of human circadian-like processes, hormones or gene expressions?

I'm reading this article onblood sugar and circadian rhythms and the following question popped into my head: a lot of articles mention various diurnal or circadian rhythmicity of biological processes. ...
2
votes
2answers
45 views

What mechanism suppresses melatonin release in humans?

I'm looking at melanopsin, a photo pigment in the human eye. One of its actions is to trigger suprachiasmatic nuclei SCN to suppress melatonin release. I'm interested in learning what is the exact ...
0
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1answer
43 views

Are lactic acid and prolactin rise after exercise connected?

I've been reading about prolactin, a human hormone. Apparently it's levels within the brain can raise after exercise, although the mechanism is not clear to me. I'm interested of there is any ...
7
votes
2answers
162 views

Do hormone drugs affect whether a person feels sexual attraction to males or females?

I know that ingesting testosterone and other hormonal drugs may stimulate libido and increase sexual desire. But I wonder, if a man ingests female hormones such as estrogen, will he experience sexual ...
1
vote
0answers
19 views

Is there an entry-level circadian model of serotonin, ghrelin, dopamine and the sense of well being?

I've long been interested in circadian rhythms and recently came across a variety of articles that appear to indicate that the following neurotransmitters, transferases and hormones are connected. ...
3
votes
1answer
76 views

Are there records of monozygotic twins in which one experiences androgen insensitivity syndrome

I have given my high school biology students the thought experiment of "What would happen if a researcher induced twinning of a female zygote and then replaced one of the X Chromosomes with a copy of ...
4
votes
1answer
44 views

Are serotonin levels in humans affected by light?

I'm reading this Wikipedia article on light therapy and noticed a peculiar statement: The production of the hormone melatonin, a sleep regulator, is inhibited by light and permitted by darkness ...
0
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0answers
25 views

Are there different metabolic pathways leading to “sleep”?

First of all, I apologize if this question does not belong on biology.stackexchange. I've long been interested in sleep and recently postulated this question in light of reading about ...
3
votes
1answer
69 views

How are melatonin levels measured in humans?

I'm wondering how it is possible to measure diurnal variations of melatonin levels in humans. I keep reading that there should be a large difference in amplitude between melatonin levels measured at ...
4
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1answer
35 views

Are there yearly variations in HIOMT (HydroxyIndole-O-MethylTransferase) availability?

I'm reading a booklet on melatonin published in 1996, titled "Melatonin and the Biological Clock". And see the following statement: HIOMT (HydroxyIndole-O-MethylTransferase), one of enzymes of ...
4
votes
0answers
44 views

What light intensity determines the start/end of a photoperiod in humans?

I'm reading this article, which discusses the influence of Long Photoperiod (LP) and Short Photoperiod (SP) on melatonin production: HIOMT drives the photoperiodic changes in the amplitude of the ...
4
votes
1answer
152 views

Is there a relationship between Melatonin, Norepinephrine and depression in humans?

I'm reading a booklet on melatonin published in 1996, titled "Melatonin and the Biological Clock". This particular paragraph caught my attention and I would like to better understand what it means: ...
8
votes
1answer
514 views

What determines testosterone exposure in womb, baby's genetics or mom's body?

I read this article which has the following quote: The ratio between index and ring finger is believed to be linked to exposure to the male hormone testosterone in the womb. And I wonder what ...
0
votes
1answer
125 views

From which ancestor species did humans inherit orgasm?

From what ancestors did humans inherit orgasm? Do fish experience orgasm? Are the male and female orgasm the homologues that can be traced to the time when there was no difference in sex between ...
4
votes
2answers
78 views

What is the purpose of the adrenal medulla?

The adrenal medulla is less of a 'real' endocrine organ like the others in the endocrine system and much more an extension of the sympathetic nervous system. In fact, its chromaffin cells are modified ...
7
votes
1answer
141 views

Why are some menstrual cycles irregular?

A friend of mine asked me this today, and I didn't know. I remember studying the menstrual cycle a few years ago, but I can't remember the details (other than it was very hormone-related), and so I ...
5
votes
1answer
196 views

Is it purely the nervous system causing vaginal lubrication (arousal)?

My girlfriend was watching some documentary on TLC about a paralyzed woman getting pregnant. I believe that woman still has some feeling, as she spoke about feeling the effects of a bladder ...
6
votes
2answers
193 views

Is there such thing as a generic “metabolic type”?

A while ago I picked up a book called "Eat right for your metabolic type". The book discussed the effects of the endocrine system on the overall shape and the speed of metabolism. The book outlined ...
6
votes
1answer
318 views

What happens to a human body once a sugary snack is consumed?

I'm looking to understand the effects of sugary snacks and/or drinks on a human body. I'm particularly interested in the timing of the ingestion versus various hormonal levels that may be circadian in ...
13
votes
2answers
404 views

Does testosterone increase female sexual behavior?

According to my lecture notes testosterone generally increases sexual behavior. Given that it's generally thought to be the male hormone I'm not quite sure whether they mean that it also increases ...
7
votes
1answer
193 views

Which human body hormonal systems exhibit 24 hour diurnal cyclical activity?

I'm researching the possible connection between the dream content and the activity of various organ or hormonal systems within the human body. I'm looking for information on biological cycles within ...
11
votes
2answers
313 views

Do human beings have pheromone receptors?

What is the current consensus on whether or not humans have receptors that detect pheromones? If there are purported receptors, in what anatomical areas are they located? With what organ systems do ...