This course explores the hormonal, neurochemical, and neuroanatomical mechanisms that underlie sexual behavior, including sexual arousal, desire, pleasure and orgasm, inhibition, conditioned sexual responses, and their disruption in sexual dysfunctions and disorders like paraphilias. Material is drawn from several disciplines, including clinical sexology, sexual medicine, anatomy, physiology, neuroendocrinology, pharmacology and neurochemistry, and basic neuroscience. This course will prepare you for the seminar in sexual behavior and sexual medicine that follows it in the Winter term. The course will consist of lectures and journal articles that should be read before each class. There will be a final exam based on the course material and readings and a final paper of a topic of your choice within the domain of the neurobiology of sexual behavior. The test will be composed of multiple choice, true-false, and short answer questions. The course will be offered in English.
The lectures are structured to give you an overview of the material covered and should serve as a space for discussion. During the lectures, previous knowledge acquired by reading and trying to understand the compulsory literature is assumed. It is absolutely essential that you read the literature regularly and in accordance with the syllabus. If you leave it to the last minute right before the exam, there is a risk that you will not understand the material and that will only stress you out. To be able to test successfully, you need to understand the material, not just be able to reproduce it. The teacher will try to help you through and during the lectures to really understand what you have read. Questions during the interpretation are more than welcome. Expect a more brisk delivery style.
The lectures are structured to give you an overview of the material covered and should serve as a space for discussion. During the lectures, previous knowledge acquired by reading and trying to understand the compulsory literature is assumed. It is absolutely essential that you read the literature regularly and in accordance with the syllabus. If you leave it to the last minute right before the exam, there is a risk that you will not understand the material and that will only stress you out. To be able to test successfully, you need to understand the material, not just be able to reproduce it. The teacher will try to help you through and during the lectures to really understand what you have read. Questions during the interpretation are more than welcome. Expect a more brisk delivery style.
- Teacher: James Pfaus