We as women have wondered many times, why men are the way they are. I and some of my women married friends often discuss how husbands never stop for taking directions when we hit the wrong road and other things and we often end up laughing with the common word, ‘HUSBANDS’ and I am quite sure ‘WIVES’ is the word on the men side. Now science has invaded the debate between men and women and studies on the gender behavior actually explain the way we behave. New research suggests that testosterone may have a surprising role in masculine mentality.

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE TESTOSTERONE
Testosterone is the most potent male hormone (androgen); it is only one of many. Androgens make the man, or at least his characteristic male traits. Androgen production requires a complex chain of events. The process begins in the brain, where the hypothaiomus produces gonadotropin-releasing hormone GnRH, also known as LHRH. GnRH doesn’t have a long commute; it acts on a nearby part of the brain, the pituitary gland. In turn, the pituitary secretes two additional hormones, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). FSH and LH were named for their effects on women’s ovaries, but they are every bit as important for men, since they act on the testicles; LH triggers testosterone production, and FSH, acting with testosterone, stimulates sperm production.

Testosterone has many direct effects on the male anatomy and metabolism. It is responsible for the deep voice, increased muscle mass, and strong bones that characterize the gender. It stimulates the production of red blood cells by the bone marrow. The hormone also has crucial, if incompletely understood, effects on male behavior as it is a contributing factor to aggressiveness, and it is essential for the libido (sex drive), as well as for normal erections and sexual performance. Testosterone stimulates the growth of the genitals at puberty, and it is responsible for sperm production throughout adult life. Finally, it influences cholesterol metabolism, but scientists are still not sure how that affects health.

Testosterone acts directly on many tissues, but also affects when converted into another androgen, dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT acts on the skin, sometimes producing acne, and on the hair follicles, putting hair on the chest but often taking it off the scalp. DHT also stimulates the growth of prostate cells, producing normal growth in adolescents but contributing to prostate cancer in many older men.

In both sexes, adrenal hormone production does not depend on LH or FSH, and in both sexes, an important precursor of testosterone is DHEA. Male hormone is converted to estradiol, a major female hormone. Most of this final conversion takes place in fat cells, which is why obese men and women have higher estrogen levels than lean men and women.
Baby boys experience a blip in testosterone reduction between three and six months of age, but by a year their levels are back down. Between six and eight years of age, production rises, triggering a transient growth of body hair but no sexual development At puberty, a surge in GnRH and LH fire up testosterone production, and testosterone goes on to stimulate the growth of bones and muscles, the production of red blood cells, an enlargement of the voice box, the growth of facial and body hair, an enlargement of the genitals, and an awakening of sexual function and reproductive capacity.