Patty Huijgens

Avhandlingen er tilgjengelig her! / The doctoral thesis is available here!

Disputasen og prøveforelesningen blir strømmet. Opptaket av disputasen vil være tilgjengelig i et døgn.
The defense and the trial lecture will be streamed. A recording of the disputation will be available for 24 hours.


Prøveforelesning over oppgitt emne starter kl. 12.15 / The trial lecture starts at 12.15
Tittel/Title: "From sex determining genes to the organizational and activational effects of sex hormones".
Prøveforelesningen strømmes her / The trial lecture will be streamed here

Disputasen starter kl. 14.15 / The defense starts at 14.15
Disputasen strømmes her / The defense will be streamed here

De som ønsker å opponere ex auditorio kan sende e-post til leder av disputasen. 
Opponents ex auditorio should sign up to leader of defense by e-mail to:
martin.eisemann@uit.no

 
Populærvitenskapelig sammendrag av avhandlingen/ Summary of the thesis

The rewarding nature of sex ensures survival of species. This thesis focuses on how the brain regulates sexual motivation, copulation, and sexual reward.

To better understand the natural organization of male rat sexual behavior, we first unraveled the patterns and determinants of pauses during copulation. This aids in the formulation of better research questions about the underlying mechanisms. Next, we investigated the role of the amygdala by temporarily inhibiting or stimulating the activity of neurons during sexual behavior. The results showed that the amygdala is important to reach ejaculation, but that it does not regulate sexual motivation. Finally, we studied the effects of sex hormones on the structure of neurons in sex-regulating brain regions. Through 3D-reconstruction, we demonstrated that the complexity of the structure of these neurons is under the influence of sex hormones.

Together, these findings have unraveled parts of the complex puzzle of how the brain orchestrates sexual behavior.

Veiledere/ Supervisors:
Hovedveileder/Main supervisor:
Førsteamanuensis Eelke Snoeren, Institutt for psykologi, Det helsevitenskapelige fakultet, UiT Norges arktiske universitet.
Biveileder/supervisor:
Professor Anders Ågmo, Institutt for psykologi, Det helsevitenskapelige fakultet, UiT Norges arktiske universitet.

Bedømmelseskomité/Defensecomitee:
Professor Juan Dominguez, University of Texas – 1. opponent.
Dr. and principle investigator Susana Lima, The Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Portugal – 2. opponent.
Professor Matthias Mittner, Institutt for psykologi, Det helsevitenskapelige fakultet, UiT Norges arktiske universitet – leder av komité.

Disputasleder/ Leader of defense:
Professor Martin Eisemann, Institutt for psykologi, Det helsevitenskapelige fakultet, UiT Norges arktiske universitet.