Cindy M Meston

This lecture course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the process of braindevelopment from embryogenesis through adulthood with emphasis on the role of the environment in directing this process. Initial lectures will focus on the origins of the central nervous system, including topics such as the organization of the brain, neurogenesis, cellular differentiation, migration and targeting of neurons, synapse formation and refinement of the nervous system. In the second half of the course, lectures will focus on the infant brain and the role of experiences during infancy in modifying brain function. Topics will also include recent advances in our understanding of the role of gene-environment interactions and epigenetic programming and shaping brain development. Finally, the adaptive vs. maladaptive outcomes of environmental modifications to the nervous system will be discussed. Throughout the course, students will be guided through examples of how changes in the developing nervous system lead to behavioral patterns both in infancy and adulthood.

This lecture course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the process of braindevelopment from embryogenesis through adulthood with emphasis on the role of the environment in directing this process. Initial lectures will focus on the origins of the central nervous system, including topics such as the organization of the brain, neurogenesis, cellular differentiation, migration and targeting of neurons, synapse formation and refinement of the nervous system. In the second half of the course, lectures will focus on the infant brain and the role of experiences during infancy in modifying brain function. Topics will also include recent advances in our understanding of the role of gene-environment interactions and epigenetic programming and shaping brain development. Finally, the adaptive vs. maladaptive outcomes of environmental modifications to the nervous system will be discussed. Throughout the course, students will be guided through examples of how changes in the developing nervous system lead to behavioral patterns both in infancy and adulthood.

This lecture course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the process of braindevelopment from embryogenesis through adulthood with emphasis on the role of the environment in directing this process. Initial lectures will focus on the origins of the central nervous system, including topics such as the organization of the brain, neurogenesis, cellular differentiation, migration and targeting of neurons, synapse formation and refinement of the nervous system. In the second half of the course, lectures will focus on the infant brain and the role of experiences during infancy in modifying brain function. Topics will also include recent advances in our understanding of the role of gene-environment interactions and epigenetic programming and shaping brain development. Finally, the adaptive vs. maladaptive outcomes of environmental modifications to the nervous system will be discussed. Throughout the course, students will be guided through examples of how changes in the developing nervous system lead to behavioral patterns both in infancy and adulthood.

In this course, you will learn about how research on human sexuality is conducted and become familiar with some of the key historical figures in the field of sexuality research. You will learn about all the stages of the human sexual response including: sexual attraction and desire, arousal, and orgasm. You will learn what enhances and what inhibits each of these stages from both a psychological (e.g., relationships, mood, past experiences) and physiological (e.g., hormonal, neurological) perspective. You will become familiar with different sexual problems that are clinically diagnosable, and how they are treated either with psychotherapy, medical intervention, or both. My goal is to give you a broad overview of how humans function sexually. The emphasis will be on the more clinical aspects of human sexuality, although I will also present an overview of social and evolutionary perspectives where relevant. Unlike some human sexuality classes, my class will not cover in detail topics such as pregnancy, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, or sexual orientation.

In this course, you will learn about how research on human sexuality is conducted and become familiar with some of the key historical figures in the field of sexuality research. You will learn about all the stages of the human sexual response including: sexual attraction and desire, arousal, and orgasm. You will learn what enhances and what inhibits each of these stages from both a psychological (e.g., relationships, mood, past experiences) and physiological (e.g., hormonal, neurological) perspective. You will become familiar with different sexual problems that are clinically diagnosable, and how they are treated either with psychotherapy, medical intervention, or both. My goal is to give you a broad overview of how humans function sexually. The emphasis will be on the more clinical aspects of human sexuality, although I will also present an overview of social and evolutionary perspectives where relevant. Unlike some human sexuality classes, my class will not cover in detail topics such as pregnancy, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, or sexual orientation.

Welcome to Human Sexuality. In this course, you will learn about how research on human sexuality is

conducted and become familiar with some of the key historical figures in the field of sexuality research. You

will learn about all the stages of the human sexual response including: sexual attraction and desire, arousal, and

orgasm. You will learn what enhances and what inhibits each of these stages from both a psychological (e.g.,

relationships, mood, past experiences) and physiological (e.g., hormonal, neurological) perspective. You will

become familiar with different sexual problems that are clinically diagnosable, and how they are treated either

with psychotherapy, medical intervention, or both. My goal is to give you a broad overview of how humans

function sexually. The emphasis will be on the more clinical aspects of human sexuality, although I will also

present an overview of social and evolutionary perspectives where relevant. Unlike some human sexuality

classes, my class will not cover in detail topics such as pregnancy, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases,

or sexual orientation

Welcome to Human Sexuality. In this course, you will learn about how research on human sexuality is

conducted and become familiar with some of the key historical figures in the field of sexuality research. You

will learn about all the stages of the human sexual response including: sexual attraction and desire, arousal, and

orgasm. You will learn what enhances and what inhibits each of these stages from both a psychological (e.g.,

relationships, mood, past experiences) and physiological (e.g., hormonal, neurological) perspective. You will

become familiar with different sexual problems that are clinically diagnosable, and how they are treated either

with psychotherapy, medical intervention, or both. My goal is to give you a broad overview of how humans

function sexually. The emphasis will be on the more clinical aspects of human sexuality, although I will also

present an overview of social and evolutionary perspectives where relevant. Unlike some human sexuality

classes, my class will not cover in detail topics such as pregnancy, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases,

or sexual orientation.

Human Sexuality (PSY 341K): Overview

Cindy M. Meston, Ph.D.
Professor, Clinical Psychology

    Welcome to Human Sexuality.  In this course, you will learn about how research on human sexuality is conducted and become familiar with some of the key historical figures in the field of sexuality research. You will learn about all the stages of the human sexual response including: sexual attraction and desire, arousal, and orgasm. You will learn what enhances and what inhibits each of these stages from both a psychological (e.g., relationships, mood, past experiences) and physiological (e.g., hormonal, neurological) perspective. You will become familiar with different sexual problems that are clinically diagnosable, and how they are treated either with psychotherapy, medical intervention, or both. My goal is to give you a broad overview of how humans function sexually. The emphasis will be on the more clinical aspects of human sexuality, although I will also present an overview of social and evolutionary perspectives where relevant. Unlike some human sexuality classes, my class will not cover in detail topics such as pregnancy, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, or sexual orientation.

    The textbook.  The required reading for this course is BONK by Mary Roach (Norton & Company, NY). This book is by no means your standard boring textbook. You are in for a real treat. BONK was released in the Spring of 2008 and was on the top New York Times best seller list for several months running. The book is brilliantly written, factually amazing, and wickedly funny. Be sure to read the footnotes (yes there will be questions from them on the exams).

    Tests and grading. Although a course on human sexuality can be exciting (no pun intended), don't expect it to be an easy course. Having taught this class many times, I expect you to immerse yourself into the readings and lectures. You will need a lot more than your own sexual experience to do well in this class. There will be detailed examination of the anatomical and physiological aspects of sexuality as well as the more relational and social aspects.
    As you can see in the syllabus below, there are 5 tests and no final. Tests are non-cumulative. The format of the tests will be 50 multiple-choice questions. You will be tested on the content of BONK, assigned articles, videos, and lectures (including guest lectures). You will be learning a lot of material, so don’t let the readings pile up to the last day. Everyone is expected to take tests at the regularly scheduled time. The best 4 out of 5 exam grades will be used to determine the course grade. You can drop any of the exams for any reason BUT YOU MUST PASS THE LAST EXAM (held on May 4).  If you do not pass the 5th exam, your score on that exam will count as one of your 4 grades.  If you do pass the final exam, then the best 4 grades will be used (irrespective of your score on the 5th exam).  BECAUSE ONLY 4 OUT OF 5 EXAMS WILL DETERMINE THE COURSE GRADE, MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL NOT BE ADMINISTERED WITHOUT DOCUMENTATION FOR ALL EXAMS MISSED. If you miss one exam, the other four exams will be used to compute your grade. If you miss two or more exams, you can only take a make-up exam if you have documented significant illnesses, or personal traumas on all the exams you missed.
Example 1: You miss one exam because you wanted to stay an extra day while on vacation —no problem as you can just drop that exam;
Example 2: You miss one exam because of a documented illness/injury—no problem as you can just drop that exam;
Example 3: You miss two exams through illnesses/injuries documented for both exams—no problem, you can take one make-up exam;
Example 4: You miss one exam because you stayed an extra day on vacation and you miss another exam because of documented illness—this is a problem because you used up your get-out-of-jail card when you stayed an extra day on vacation, so one of your exam scores will be a 0.

    The final grade is based on four exams. Your four highest exams are worth 25% each and the lowest exam is worth 0% (i.e., you do not include it in the final grade). In other words, you can do terribly on one of the exams and overcome it by doing well on the other exams.

Computing your final grade.  Assuming you pass the 5th exam, your Final Grade will be     computed in the following way:
        4 best exams @ 50 points each = 200 points/2 = 100%

At the end of the semester, grades will be assigned in the following way:
A  =  92-100
A-  = 90-91
B+ = 88-89
B   = 82-87
B-  = 80-81
C+ = 78-79
C  =  72-77
C-  = 70-71
D+ = 68-69
D  =  62- 67
D-  = 60-61
F  =   0 -59
There are no exceptions to this grading scheme.  No extra credit.  No amount of begging, pleading, bribing, or heartfelt sorrow will change your final grade.
    Other support.  UT runs the Learning Skills Center in Jester Hall that offers invaluable advice on studying and note-taking techniques in general. The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY.  Finally, it is common for students to feel a great deal of stress when starting college.  If you need to talk to someone, contact the Counseling and Mental Health Center at 471-3515. 

I sincerely hope you enjoy the course.  If you have any questions, please drop by my or one of the TAs offices during the office hours listed below.
 
Human Sexuality – Spring 2010

Location:                    WEL 3.502

Instructor
Cindy M. Meston, Ph.D.              email: meston@psy.utexas.edu
Office: SEAY 3.232               
Office phone: 232-4644
Office hours: W 12:30 – 2:00pm, after class, or by appointment

Teaching Assistants
Yasisca Pujols                     email: yasisca.pujols@mail.utexas.edu
Office:  SEAY 3.112D
Office hours: T/TH 2:00-3:30
Office phone: 471-3722

Lisa Dawn Hamilton                 email: ldhamilton@mail.utexas.edu
Office: SEAY 3.318
Office hours:     W 9:30-12:30
Office phone: 232-4805
 

Kyle Stephenson                 email: krstephenson@mail.utexas.edu
Office: SEAY 3.318
Office hours: M 11:00-1:00
Office phone: 232-4805

Tentative Syllabus
Required Reading: BONK by Mary Roach (Norton & Company Publishers, 2008) -- available at the UT Bookstore. Assigned articles will be made available online.
DATE    Lecture Topic    Chapter Readings
Jan 20    Introduction to Sex Research    Foreplay
Chapter 1
Chapter 5
Jan 25    Sexual Attraction   
Jan 27    Sexual Attraction “Don’t Be Weird”
(Guest Lecture: Nathan Wong, Dating Coach)    
Feb 1    Sexual Attraction    Chapter 14
Feb 3    Sexual Desire   
Feb 8    Sexual Desire    
Feb 10    TEST 1   
Feb 15    Sexual Anatomy: Men and Women    Chapter 13
Feb 17    Sexual Arousal and Orgasm in Men    Chapter 7
Feb 22    Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction, Premature Ejaculation    Chapter 6
Chapter 8
Feb 24    Brain Imaging of Male Sexual Arousal
(Guest Lecture: Lisa Dawn Hamilton, M.A.)   
Mar 1    TEST 2   
Mar 3    Sexual Arousal in Women    Chapter 2
Mar 8    Sexual Arousal in Women    Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Mar 10    Body Image and Sexual Arousal
(Guest Lecture: Yasisca Pujols, M.A.)   
Mar 22    Why Women Have Sex   
Mar 24    TEST 3   
Mar 29    Women’s Orgasm     Chapter 3
Chapter 4
March 31    Women’s Orgasm    Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 15
April 5    Sexual Pain   
April 7    Paraphilias    Transvestic Fetisism in the General Population: Prevalence and Correlates
April 12    Paraphilias   
April 14    TEST 4   
April 19    Sexual Differentiation    Sexual Identity and Sexual Orientation in Children with Traumatized or Ambiguous Genitalia
April 21    Sexual Differentiation   
April 26    Gender Identity Disorder    Sexual and Physical Health after Sex Reassignment Surgery
April 28    Sexual Satisfaction
(Guest Lecture: Kyle Stephenson)   
May 3    Gender Identity Disorder   
May 5    TEST 5   

Topics of contemporary interest that may vary from semester to semester. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: For psychology majors, upper-division standing and Psychology 301 and 418 with a grade of at least C in each; for nonmajors, upper-division standing, Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C, and one of the following with a grade of at least C: Biology 318M, Civil Engineering 311S, Economics 329, Educational Psychology 371, Government 350K, Mathematics 316, Psychology 317, Sociology 317L, Social Work 318, Statistics 309.

Topics of contemporary interest that may vary from semester to semester. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: For psychology majors, upper-division standing and Psychology 301 and 418 with a grade of at least C in each; for nonmajors, upper-division standing, Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C, and one of the following with a grade of at least C: Biology 318M, Civil Engineering 311S, Economics 329, Educational Psychology 371, Government 350K, Mathematics 316, Psychology 317, Sociology 317L, Social Work 318, Statistics 309.

Topics of contemporary interest that may vary from semester to semester. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: For psychology majors, upper-division standing and Psychology 301 and 418 with a grade of at least C in each; for nonmajors, upper-division standing, Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C, and one of the following with a grade of at least C: Biology 318M, Civil Engineering 311S, Economics 329, Educational Psychology 371, Government 350K, Mathematics 316, Psychology 317, Sociology 317L, Social Work 318, Statistics 309.

This lecture course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the process of braindevelopment from embryogenesis through adulthood with emphasis on the role of the environment in directing this process. Initial lectures will focus on the origins of the central nervous system, including topics such as the organization of the brain, neurogenesis, cellular differentiation, migration and targeting of neurons, synapse formation and refinement of the nervous system. In the second half of the course, lectures will focus on the infant brain and the role of experiences during infancy in modifying brain function. Topics will also include recent advances in our understanding of the role of gene-environment interactions and epigenetic programming and shaping brain development. Finally, the adaptive vs. maladaptive outcomes of environmental modifications to the nervous system will be discussed. Throughout the course, students will be guided through examples of how changes in the developing nervous system lead to behavioral patterns both in infancy and adulthood.

This lecture course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the process of braindevelopment from embryogenesis through adulthood with emphasis on the role of the environment in directing this process. Initial lectures will focus on the origins of the central nervous system, including topics such as the organization of the brain, neurogenesis, cellular differentiation, migration and targeting of neurons, synapse formation and refinement of the nervous system. In the second half of the course, lectures will focus on the infant brain and the role of experiences during infancy in modifying brain function. Topics will also include recent advances in our understanding of the role of gene-environment interactions and epigenetic programming and shaping brain development. Finally, the adaptive vs. maladaptive outcomes of environmental modifications to the nervous system will be discussed. Throughout the course, students will be guided through examples of how changes in the developing nervous system lead to behavioral patterns both in infancy and adulthood.

This lecture course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the process of braindevelopment from embryogenesis through adulthood with emphasis on the role of the environment in directing this process. Initial lectures will focus on the origins of the central nervous system, including topics such as the organization of the brain, neurogenesis, cellular differentiation, migration and targeting of neurons, synapse formation and refinement of the nervous system. In the second half of the course, lectures will focus on the infant brain and the role of experiences during infancy in modifying brain function. Topics will also include recent advances in our understanding of the role of gene-environment interactions and epigenetic programming and shaping brain development. Finally, the adaptive vs. maladaptive outcomes of environmental modifications to the nervous system will be discussed. Throughout the course, students will be guided through examples of how changes in the developing nervous system lead to behavioral patterns both in infancy and adulthood.

This lecture course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the process of braindevelopment from embryogenesis through adulthood with emphasis on the role of the environment in directing this process. Initial lectures will focus on the origins of the central nervous system, including topics such as the organization of the brain, neurogenesis, cellular differentiation, migration and targeting of neurons, synapse formation and refinement of the nervous system. In the second half of the course, lectures will focus on the infant brain and the role of experiences during infancy in modifying brain function. Topics will also include recent advances in our understanding of the role of gene-environment interactions and epigenetic programming and shaping brain development. Finally, the adaptive vs. maladaptive outcomes of environmental modifications to the nervous system will be discussed. Throughout the course, students will be guided through examples of how changes in the developing nervous system lead to behavioral patterns both in infancy and adulthood.

This lecture course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the process of braindevelopment from embryogenesis through adulthood with emphasis on the role of the environment in directing this process. Initial lectures will focus on the origins of the central nervous system, including topics such as the organization of the brain, neurogenesis, cellular differentiation, migration and targeting of neurons, synapse formation and refinement of the nervous system. In the second half of the course, lectures will focus on the infant brain and the role of experiences during infancy in modifying brain function. Topics will also include recent advances in our understanding of the role of gene-environment interactions and epigenetic programming and shaping brain development. Finally, the adaptive vs. maladaptive outcomes of environmental modifications to the nervous system will be discussed. Throughout the course, students will be guided through examples of how changes in the developing nervous system lead to behavioral patterns both in infancy and adulthood.

Seminars in Clinical Psychology. One or three lecture hours a wekk for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and consent of instructor.

This lecture course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the process of braindevelopment from embryogenesis through adulthood with emphasis on the role of the environment in directing this process. Initial lectures will focus on the origins of the central nervous system, including topics such as the organization of the brain, neurogenesis, cellular differentiation, migration and targeting of neurons, synapse formation and refinement of the nervous system. In the second half of the course, lectures will focus on the infant brain and the role of experiences during infancy in modifying brain function. Topics will also include recent advances in our understanding of the role of gene-environment interactions and epigenetic programming and shaping brain development. Finally, the adaptive vs. maladaptive outcomes of environmental modifications to the nervous system will be discussed. Throughout the course, students will be guided through examples of how changes in the developing nervous system lead to behavioral patterns both in infancy and adulthood.

This lecture course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the process of braindevelopment from embryogenesis through adulthood with emphasis on the role of the environment in directing this process. Initial lectures will focus on the origins of the central nervous system, including topics such as the organization of the brain, neurogenesis, cellular differentiation, migration and targeting of neurons, synapse formation and refinement of the nervous system. In the second half of the course, lectures will focus on the infant brain and the role of experiences during infancy in modifying brain function. Topics will also include recent advances in our understanding of the role of gene-environment interactions and epigenetic programming and shaping brain development. Finally, the adaptive vs. maladaptive outcomes of environmental modifications to the nervous system will be discussed. Throughout the course, students will be guided through examples of how changes in the developing nervous system lead to behavioral patterns both in infancy and adulthood.