James Michael Howard's website can be found here: http://www.anthropogeny.com/
Brief
Individuals of higher testosterone and lower cortisol have a reproductive advantage. These individuals are aggressive, sexy, do not control their impulses easily, have less ability to anticipate consequences and smaller prefrontal lobes, and form into groups. Because of their reproductive advantage the population will change and the characteristics of these individuals will increase accordingly within the population.Another aspect of too much testosterone is increased vulnerability to infections. High testosterone populations prior to the advent of anti-microbial agents and medical care were at increased risk of infections, and pandemics occurred. These plagues of Europe removed most of the people of high testosterone. The surviving people of lower testosterone produced the intellectual accomplishments known as the "Renaissance." Since the plagues differed in effect and timing in the "East," there was not as large a removal of people of high testosterone; the Renaissance was limited to Europe.
Testosterone and Cortisol, the Secular Trend, and the Decline of Forethought and Individuality in Society and Religion
by James Michael Howard"It is my hypothesis that civilizations have ascended and declined as a consequence of the degree of development of the prefrontal lobes of the brains of the majority of citizens. Development of the prefrontal lobes is a consequence of growth and development of the individual. A change in growth and development of the individuals of a population over time is a "secular trend." I suggest the secular trend results in increases, followed by reductions, in size and function of the prefrontal lobes of many individuals within a population as the population evolves.
The secular trend is the increase in size and earlier puberty in children. The secular trend in the United States is real and robust and is likely "an acceleration of maturation" (Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. 2000; 154: 155). Many think the secular trend results from increased nutrition, especially increased fat in the diet. I suggest the trend results from differential reproduction of types of individuals; increased nutrition, mainly increased calories, simply accelerates the process. Increased nutrition provides a favorable "feed and breed" situation. Increased nutrition increases the advantages of a faster breeding group over a slower breeding group. I think the trend represents the increase in percentage of individuals who produce different levels of hormones that directly, and positively, affect their rate of reproduction. Individuals of higher testosterone and lower cortisol have a reproductive advantage in our society.
Testosterone increases sex drive and aggression in men and women. Given time, individuals of higher testosterone will reproduce faster than those of less testosterone. This trend will increase the percentage of sexier, more aggressive individuals. The population will change and the characteristics of these individuals will increase accordingly within the population.
Cortisol is the "stress hormone." When cortisol increases in response to a stimulus, cortisol reduces the response to that stimulus. Behaviors that stimulate cortisol do not occur often. Women who produce less cortisol engage in sexual intercourse at a younger age and produce less cortisol in response to stress later in life (Psychoneuroendocrinology 2002; 27: 933). Women of low cortisol and high testosterone "may" engage in sexual activity much earlier and with greater frequency than those of higher cortisol and lower testosterone.
Given time, these women and their offspring will increase in percentage within a population and affect the characteristics of that population.
They are sexy and fearless.
Testosterone affects both the brain and body. From birth until puberty, the brain and body compete for growth and development. Early in growth and development, the brain, as a whole, dominates this competition. As the brain begins to finalize its growth, its ability to compete for testosterone begins to decrease compared to the body. At this time, the part of the brain that controls sex drive (lower brain) is complete, but the final part of brain development (upper brain) is not complete. (This competition of brain and body development is how the onset of puberty is delayed until the brain is almost complete.) The part of the brain that controls sex drive contains more "receptors" for testosterone than the upper brain. As puberty approaches, this combination of competition for testosterone from the lower brain and the body adversely affect final development of the upper brain, specially the prefrontal lobes. In an individual of higher testosterone, the increased testosterone positively affects the lower brain during this competition. Puberty occurs early, the final part of growth and development of the prefrontal lobes is adversely affected and, in a person of low cortisol, sexual behavior starts early. The combination of high testosterone and low cortisol increases the use of testosterone for the behavior controlled by the lower brain, that is, puberty and sexual activity. These individuals should exhibit reduced ability to control their behavior because of high testosterone, low cortisol, and reduced development of their prefrontal lobes. Outside of their group, they exhibit impulse control problems.
Individuals of high testosterone and low cortisol present real problems for society. High testosterone is connected with violent, negative behaviors. "The matched analysis further substantiated the association between testosterone secretion and learning disabilities." (Physiol Behav 1993; 53: 583). "The group of rapists who were judged to be most violent had a significantly higher mean plasma testosterone level than normals, child molesters, and other rapists in this study." (Psychosom Med 1976; 38: 257). "In the housing unit where peer ratings were most reliable, inmates rated as tougher by their peers were higher in testosterone." (Psychosom Med 1987 49: 174). "Decreased cortisol levels appear to be most strongly associated with antisocial girls who do not have other psychiatric disorders." (Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001; 58: 297). "Low cortisol levels were associated with persistence and early onset of aggression, particularly when measures of cortisol concentrations were pooled. Boys with low cortisol concentrations at both time points exhibited triple the number of aggressive symptoms and were named as most aggressive by peers 3 times as often as boys who had higher cortisol concentrations at either sampling time." (Arch Gen Psychiatry 2000; 57: 38). Most importantly to this treatise is the finding that prefrontal gray matter volume is reduced in a group of people who exhibit "antisocial personality disorder (APD)" who otherwise "do not have discernible brain trauma." "The APD group showed an 11.0% reduction in prefrontal gray matter volume in the absence of ostensible brain lesions and reduced autonomic activity during the stressor. These deficits predicted group membership independent of psychosocial risk factors." (Arch Gen Psychiatry 2000; 57: 119). These individuals are aggressive, sexy, do not control their impulses easily, and form into groups.
Mathematics, science, language, and law depend upon real consequences. "Culture" and "religion" depend upon hypothetical consequences. "Forethought," or hypothesis formation, is dependent upon development of the prefrontal lobes of the brain. Hypothesis formation consists of two simple questions: "If this happens, what will happen?" and its immediate accompaniment, "If I do this, what will happen?" I specifically stated that religion utilizes "hypothetical consequences" to enforce the hypothesis: "If I do this, what will happen?" Whether one believes in a God of the present or of the future, the consequences that result from transgressions of doctrine remain abstract. One has to
wonder (hypothesize) when consequences will happen, soon or upon one's death. I have suggested that the prefrontal lobe declines within civilizations. The last quotation of the paragraph, above, I think, supports my hypothesis and adds one very significant finding. The prefrontal lobes of the subjects of the study were actually reduced in size in "antisocial personality disorder." This results in loss of individuality: "These deficits predicted group membership independent of psychosocial risk factors." Reductions in the prefrontal lobes result in loss of ability to anticipate consequences and also increase group membership. This translates to thinking with the lower brain, emotional thinking, and groups of emotional thinkers. Religion relies on some combination of abstract thinking or emotional thinking. The percentages of individuals who utilize either abstract thinking or emotional thinking may produce the different religions and denominations. I suggest some religions rely on emotional thinking because it exerts more control over their flocks. These religions contain groups of individuals of higher testosterone and lower cortisol who may be moved to commit acts that are in direct contrast to the founding religion. Given time, the secular trend will produce this phenomenon. There are other, natural circumstances that may accelerate this phenomenon. Though this occurs in the "West," there are reasons why religions of the "East" contain more "zealot" sects. "Western Civilization" and its religions may differ because of a biological accident.
Again, I think testosterone increases and cortisol decreases in all civilizations. I think the secular trend is a phenomenon of all human populations that have succeeded in producing civilizations. Fortuitously for Europe and the West, another, consequential, negative aspect of too much testosterone is increased vulnerability to infections. Testosterone has been connected with increases in all types of infectious agents.
Experimentally, testosterone has been used to prove this connection. Therefore, populations prior to the advent of anti-microbial agents and medical care were at increased risk of infections. Where infectious agents gained entry into high testosterone populations, pandemics occurred. These plagues of Europe accomplished something "beneficial," that is, the plagues removed most of the people of high testosterone. The surviving people of lower testosterone produced the intellectual accomplishments known as the "Renaissance." Since the plagues differed in effect and timing in the "East," there was not as large a removal of people of high testosterone; the Renaissance was limited to Europe.
"Western civilization" is the result of the "good luck" of having plagues remove the majority of people of high testosterone. Therefore, fewer sects have evolved out of the paramount religions in the West. It is beginning to happen here; there were / are religious atrocities in Western religions, but the atrocities of Eastern religions far surpass those of the West at this time.
*Copyright: 2002, James Michael Howard, Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S.A. This work is derived from three of my papers: "Hormones in Mammalian Evolution," Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum 2001; 94: 177-184; "Androgens in Human Evolution. A New Explanation of Human Evolution," Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum 2001; 94: 345-362, and "Mitochondrial Eve, Y Chromosome Adam,Testosterone, and Human Evolution," Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum 2002; 95: 319-326.
Competing interests: None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests"
(source: http://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/10/29/actually-it-more-testosterone)
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