s The thyroid dysfunction, which is quite prevalent in the population, affects many organs including male and female gonads, thus interfering with the human reproductive physiology. Prolactin has suppressive effect on the pituitary –ovarian axis and may result in amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea due to anovulatory cycles. Hyperprolactinemia is a common problem in reproductive dysfunction, affecting...

It is predicted that Japan and European Union will soon experience appreciable decreases in their populations due to persistently low total fertility rates (TFR) below replacement level (2.1 child per woman). In the United States, where TFR has also declined, there are ethnic differences. Caucasians have rates below replacement, while TFRs among African-Americans and Hispanics are higher. We re...

What determines male mating rate? New research is highlighting the potential importance of variation in reproductive organ size in determining the limits of male mating frequency and reproductive success. The accessory glands provide the material required to synthesise the spermatophore in which the sperm, produced by the testes, are packaged. Male mating rate is both phenotypically and genetic...

Social interactions with the outcome of a position in a dominance hierarchy can have profound effects on reproductive behavior and physiology, requiring animals to integrate environmental information with their internal physiological state; but how is salient information from the animal's dynamic social environment transformed into adaptive behavioral, physiological, and molecular-level changes...

The breeding system of an animal population is thought to depend on the ability of one sex (usually the male) to acquire mates, either directly through association with females or indirectly through defense of the resources desired by females. The sex that contributes most to infant care (usually the female) is constrained by parental involvement and thereby limits reproduction of the opposite ...

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are incorporated into a wide variety of consumer products, are readily released into home and work environments, and are present in house dust. Studies using animal models have revealed that exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) may impair adult male reproductive function and thyroid hormone physiology. Such studies have generally characterized th...

The endocrine disruptor bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) has been shown to exert adverse effects on the male animal reproductive system. However, its mode of action is unclear and a systematic analysis of its molecular targets is needed. In the present study, we investigated the effects of prenatal exposure to 300 mg/kg/day DEHP during a critical period for gonads differentiation to testes on...

Reproductive traits experience high levels of selection because of their direct ties to fitness, often resulting in rapid adaptive evolution. Much of the work in this area has focused on male reproductive traits. However, a more comprehensive understanding of female reproductive adaptations and their relationship to male characters is crucial to uncover the relative roles of sexual cooperation ...

Several studies indicate that in utero and perinatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) induces adverse reproductive effects, but it remains unclear whether such effects may be transmitted to subsequent generations. We therefore investigated the association between maternal exposure to PCBs and reproductive health in male and female offspring over three generations. Mouse dams were fe...