Developmental Biology : Adulthood
Throughout adulthood and old age, the brain and many other organs retain plasticity and continue to be modified by gene expression, hormones, and environmental factors.
During fertile adulthood, a period of about 40 years, sex differences persist in anatomy, organ function, and endocrine function. Relative to men, women have:
These factors interact and affect the individual throughout adulthood.
In addition, women experience fluctuations in their reproductive system (e.g., the ovarian cycle, pregnancy, and lactation) that influence numerous bodily functions, including brain function, thermoregulation, urinary creatinine clearance, liver enzyme function, and gastrointestinal transit time.
