Did You Know? Your hormones were jamming out even before you were born! 🕺💃🎶 They've been setting the stage for who you might become. Let's dive into the details.

• Main Star: Sex-determining hormones, especially in the prenatal period (when you were still chillin' in your mom's womb).

• Role: Influences how the hypothalamus, a key part of your brain, will regulate hormonal secretion later in life. If it gets disrupted, there might be long-lasting effects.

Example Time! 🎉: Picture this. If a little baby in the womb has male sexual organs but the brain doesn't get the typical 'male hormonal mix', it might not be predisposed to the same gender identity later in life.

• What is it? Testosterone is like the Captain America of male hormones. When present in the womb, it affects brain development.
• Effects: Might include some typical male traits like
  • Being more competitive (like wanting to win at Monopoly every time!)
  • Better visuospatial abilities (like navigating through a maze or reading a map!)
  • Increased aggression.

Why? Historically, males had roles like hunting or foraging. So, imagine ancient dudes looking for food, they needed those sharp spatial skills!

Animal Examples 🐁: Female rats exposed to testosterone during development act more "male-like" post-birth. Think of it like tomboy rats! They played rough and even showed male-like romantic behavior. On the flip side, male rats with less testosterone acted less "male-like".