{"id":{"repo_id":"toronto-retro","oai_identifier":"oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/103551"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/toronto-retro/oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/103551","repository":{"repo_id":"toronto-retro","name":"University of Toronto","base_url":"https://utoronto.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Models for Investigating the Biology of Sexual Differentiation","abstract":"There are marked sex-based differences in physiology and behaviour across the animal kingdom, however very few of these differences are fully understood. Inter-individual differences exist within the sexes as well. Sexual differentiation is the process of development of these differences. The study of sexual differentiation is itself a discipline, with different concepts and methods applied across structures and species. Explanations for the biology of the sexual differentiation of the brain and nervous system have generally been studied within the framework of hormonal, genetic, and immunological factors. In three studies, I examined three different models for advancing our understanding of sexual differentiation. Study 1 aimed to examine the importance of site of action of hormonal mechanisms in sexual differentiation using an advanced conditional transgenic mouse model. Using this approach, I found a novel pathway for the sexual differentiation of a sexually dimorphic spinal nucleus. Study 2 took a developmental approach to the understanding of inter-individual differences in gender expression, examining biological markers of prenatal hormone exposure, genetics, and immune factors among a non-clinical sample of children. The results of Study 2 demonstrated that these markers are useful in predicting subtle inter-individual variation in gender expression outside of the marked gender variant behaviour seen in clinical samples. Finally, Study 3 took a cross-cultural approach to examining genetic, hormonal, and immunological markers of gender expression/identity and sexual orientation. The findings of Study 3 supported the idea that the markers examined explain inter-individual variation in sexual orientation and, to a lesser degree, gender identity; however, these findings were more strongly supported in individuals assigned male at birth, suggesting that mechanisms related to these markers might be sex-specific in their influence on sexual orientation and/or gender expression. Together, these studies highlight the importance of using a variety of models, as well as experimental and correlational approaches, to advance understanding of the process of sexual differentiation. All three models present support for the idea that biological processes mediate the sexual differentiation of the nervous system and behaviour.","abstract_html":"There are marked sex-based differences in physiology and behaviour across the animal kingdom, however very few of these differences are fully understood. Inter-individual differences exist within the sexes as well. Sexual differentiation is the process of development of these differences. The study of sexual differentiation is itself a discipline, with different concepts and methods applied across structures and species. Explanations for the biology of the sexual differentiation of the brain and nervous system have generally been studied within the framework of hormonal, genetic, and immunological factors. In three studies, I examined three different models for advancing our understanding of sexual differentiation. Study 1 aimed to examine the importance of site of action of hormonal mechanisms in sexual differentiation using an advanced conditional transgenic mouse model. Using this approach, I found a novel pathway for the sexual differentiation of a sexually dimorphic spinal nucleus. Study 2 took a developmental approach to the understanding of inter-individual differences in gender expression, examining biological markers of prenatal hormone exposure, genetics, and immune factors among a non-clinical sample of children. The results of Study 2 demonstrated that these markers are useful in predicting subtle inter-individual variation in gender expression outside of the marked gender variant behaviour seen in clinical samples. Finally, Study 3 took a cross-cultural approach to examining genetic, hormonal, and immunological markers of gender expression/identity and sexual orientation. The findings of Study 3 supported the idea that the markers examined explain inter-individual variation in sexual orientation and, to a lesser degree, gender identity; however, these findings were more strongly supported in individuals assigned male at birth, suggesting that mechanisms related to these markers might be sex-specific in their influence on sexual orientation and/or gender expression. Together, these studies highlight the importance of using a variety of models, as well as experimental and correlational approaches, to advance understanding of the process of sexual differentiation. All three models present support for the idea that biological processes mediate the sexual differentiation of the nervous system and behaviour.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Coome, Lindsay"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Psychology","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["VanderLaan, Doug P","Monks, Ashley"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-11","date_published":"2020-11","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:28:01Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":["Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International"],"rights_urls":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1807/103551","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["VanderLaan, Doug P","Monks, Ashley"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Coome, Lindsay"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2020-11"]},{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2020-11-30T20:27:47Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-11-30T20:27:47Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2020-11"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1807/103551"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["There are marked sex-based differences in physiology and behaviour across the animal kingdom, however very few of these differences are fully understood. Inter-individual differences exist within the sexes as well. Sexual differentiation is the process of development of these differences. The study of sexual differentiation is itself a discipline, with different concepts and methods applied across structures and species. Explanations for the biology of the sexual differentiation of the brain and nervous system have generally been studied within the framework of hormonal, genetic, and immunological factors. In three studies, I examined three different models for advancing our understanding of sexual differentiation. Study 1 aimed to examine the importance of site of action of hormonal mechanisms in sexual differentiation using an advanced conditional transgenic mouse model. Using this approach, I found a novel pathway for the sexual differentiation of a sexually dimorphic spinal nucleus. Study 2 took a developmental approach to the understanding of inter-individual differences in gender expression, examining biological markers of prenatal hormone exposure, genetics, and immune factors among a non-clinical sample of children. The results of Study 2 demonstrated that these markers are useful in predicting subtle inter-individual variation in gender expression outside of the marked gender variant behaviour seen in clinical samples. Finally, Study 3 took a cross-cultural approach to examining genetic, hormonal, and immunological markers of gender expression/identity and sexual orientation. The findings of Study 3 supported the idea that the markers examined explain inter-individual variation in sexual orientation and, to a lesser degree, gender identity; however, these findings were more strongly supported in individuals assigned male at birth, suggesting that mechanisms related to these markers might be sex-specific in their influence on sexual orientation and/or gender expression. Together, these studies highlight the importance of using a variety of models, as well as experimental and correlational approaches, to advance understanding of the process of sexual differentiation. All three models present support for the idea that biological processes mediate the sexual differentiation of the nervous system and behaviour."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Models for Investigating the Biology of Sexual Differentiation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["VanderLaan, Doug P","Monks, Ashley"],"dc:contributor.department":["Psychology"],"dc:creator":["Coome, Lindsay"],"dc:date":["2020-11"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2020-11-30T20:27:47Z"],"dc:date.available":["2020-11-30T20:27:47Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2020-11"],"dc:description.abstract":["There are marked sex-based differences in physiology and behaviour across the animal kingdom, however very few of these differences are fully understood. Inter-individual differences exist within the sexes as well. Sexual differentiation is the process of development of these differences. The study of sexual differentiation is itself a discipline, with different concepts and methods applied across structures and species. Explanations for the biology of the sexual differentiation of the brain and nervous system have generally been studied within the framework of hormonal, genetic, and immunological factors. In three studies, I examined three different models for advancing our understanding of sexual differentiation. Study 1 aimed to examine the importance of site of action of hormonal mechanisms in sexual differentiation using an advanced conditional transgenic mouse model. Using this approach, I found a novel pathway for the sexual differentiation of a sexually dimorphic spinal nucleus. Study 2 took a developmental approach to the understanding of inter-individual differences in gender expression, examining biological markers of prenatal hormone exposure, genetics, and immune factors among a non-clinical sample of children. The results of Study 2 demonstrated that these markers are useful in predicting subtle inter-individual variation in gender expression outside of the marked gender variant behaviour seen in clinical samples. Finally, Study 3 took a cross-cultural approach to examining genetic, hormonal, and immunological markers of gender expression/identity and sexual orientation. The findings of Study 3 supported the idea that the markers examined explain inter-individual variation in sexual orientation and, to a lesser degree, gender identity; however, these findings were more strongly supported in individuals assigned male at birth, suggesting that mechanisms related to these markers might be sex-specific in their influence on sexual orientation and/or gender expression. Together, these studies highlight the importance of using a variety of models, as well as experimental and correlational approaches, to advance understanding of the process of sexual differentiation. All three models present support for the idea that biological processes mediate the sexual differentiation of the nervous system and behaviour."],"dc:description.degree":["Ph.D."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1807/103551"],"dc:rights":["Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/"],"dc:title":["Models for Investigating the Biology of Sexual Differentiation"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:28:01Z"}