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Conceptual and Neural Mechanisms of Masculine Copulatory Behavior

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Sex and Behavior

Abstract

This chapter deals with the conceptualization of masculine copulatory behavior in mammals, and with the search for the neural basis of this behavior. My thesis, in part, is that the search for the central neural control of sexual behavior has not led to the dicoveries and sense of understanding that many expected when the search began. The relatively slow rate of progress stems partly from the apparent complexity of the neural control, and from the technical difficulties in tracing that control. The difficulties in understanding the neural control might have been more easily anticipated, though perhaps not avoided, had there been greater concurrent conceptual analysis of the behavior patterns.

The experimental work from my laboratory was supported by USPHS research grants HD-04048 and HD-08933, and by grants from The University of Connecticut Research Foundation.

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Sachs, B.D. (1978). Conceptual and Neural Mechanisms of Masculine Copulatory Behavior. In: McGill, T.E., Dewsbury, D.A., Sachs, B.D. (eds) Sex and Behavior. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0421-8_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0421-8_10

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