From: backon@vms.huji.ac.il
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Re: Talmud on determining sex
Date: 25 Dec 92 09:12:09 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.jewish
Organization: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

In article <105643@bu.edu>, simon1@bass.bu.edu (Simon Streltsov) writes:
> In article <1992Dec24.195634.978@netcom.com> strnlght@netcom.com (David Sternlight) writes:
>>
>>My orthodox Grandfather (O"H) told my father who told me that according
>>to the Talmud if the woman has an orgasm first the child will be
>>a boy.
>>
>>My father told it to me as an illustration of the importance Judaism
>>places on the sexual satisfaction of the wife.
> 
> I always wondered, how to check this theory ( maybe it is an
> agodah after all, or it's purpose is to make people work harder
> to satisfy their wives (-:).
> And it may work only in mikva-visiting families, after all...
> 
> I dont think, that making questionarries would be appropriate
> because of the tzniut, but maybe some secondary data can help...
> 
> For example, (from my extremely limited knowledge of biology, and
> point of view of unmarried 28y.old), if Talmud story is statistically
> significant, then more daughters should be born first, and sons
> later (hm, I just visited rabbi with 5 daughters first, and four
> sons after that).
> 
> Herman, do you hear me? Put on you statistician's hat!
> What about biologists?!
> Let's solve it...
> 
> Simon Streltsov,
> Boston University
> 
> "If you go on the road and come to a fork -
> Take it!"

There is a researcher (James ??) who has done quite a lot of work on sex ratios
and I've read his papers in the ANNALS OF HUMAN BIOLOGY but the Talmudic
comment suddenly puts things in perspective. I belong to the Autonomic
Dysfunction  Group of the World Federation of Neurology and my own research is
on neural control of visceral function. Since the autonomic nervous system
affects ectopic pregnancy, infertility, and tubal dyskinesia (1);
spermatogenesis, erection, lactation, menstruation, and sexual maturity (2);
and ovulation (3,4) one the one hand, and there is asymmetric (brain
hemispheric) control of autonomic function on the other (5), the concept that
orgasm (brain hemispheric function) affects sex ratios *is* viable. In fact it
generates a whole slew of testable hypotheses. There is also hypothalamic
asymmetry in endocrine control of the ovaries (6). Sexual orgasm is mediated by
right (brain) hemisphere activity.

Thanks netters ! Our cardiology department has *just* finished developing a
diagnostic test that could detect precisely this problem. This work will be on
our research agenda in the coming months.



(1) Asherman JG. Etiology of ectopic pregnancy: A new concept. Obstet Gynecol
1955;6:619-624

2) Bell C. Autonomic nervous control of reproduction: Circulatory and other
factors. Pharm Rev 1972;24:657-736

3) Aguado I, Ojeda SR. Prepubertal ovarian function is finely regulated by
direct adrenergic influences: Role of noradrenergic innervation. Endocrinology
1984;114:1845-1853

4) Bahr J, Kao L, Nalbandov AV. The role of catecholamines and nerves in
ovulation. Biol Reprod 1974;10:273-290

5) Werntz DA, Bickford RG, Bloom FE, Shannahoff-Khalsa DS. Alternating cerebral
hemispheric activity and the lateralization of autonomic nervous function.
Human Neurobiology 1983;2:39-43

6) Nance OM, White JP, Moger WH. Neural regulation of the ovary: evidence for
hypothalamic asymmetry  in endocrine control. Brain Res Bull 1983;10:353-355


(modesty prevents me from listing the dozen papers we've done :-)  )

Josh

Dr. Josh Backon
Cardiology
backon@VMS.HUJI.AC.IL

> 
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Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish