The take-away from this abbreviated look at sex and gender differences is simply
stated at the outset: "biological influences on sex differences in brain and behavior
operate at so many different levels, and they interact with environmental influences
in so many different ways, that rigid, stereotyped ideas about what is and is not
typical male or typical female behavior have become impossible to sustain." Pfaff,
a neurobiologist at Rockefeller University, has been a major player in the field;
indeed, much of what he discusses originally came from research conducted in his
laboratory. Despite this expertise, Pfaff struggles to make his point because he
covers too many topics without devoting enough space to any of them. Although he
addresses fascinating subjects including sex determination, hormonal influences
on behavior, causes and treatment of autism, and the treatment of developmental
abnormalities in genitalia, most of his discussion is technical and remarkably
truncated, thus not readily accessible to the general audience. Pfaff covers some
of the same ground as Rebecca Jordan-Young's recently released and outstanding
Brainstorm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex Differences, but not nearly with the
same depth and panache. 70 b&w line drawings.

Download File Size:6.72 MB

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