The second edition of a popular introduction to the field of behavioral endocrinology.

The Third Edition of An Introduction to Behavioral Endocrinology retains all the features of the bestselling prior editions, and provides an updated, integrated presentation of the study of hormone- behaviour interactions.

In social relationshipsÑwhether between mates, parents and offspring, or friendsÑwe find much of lifeÕs meaning. But in these relationships, so critical to our well-being, might we also detect the workings, even directives, of biology? This book, a rare melding of human and animal research and theoretical and empirical science, ventures into the most interesting realms of behavioral biology to examine the intimate role of endocrinology in social relationships. The importance of hormones to reproductive behaviorÑfrom breeding cycles to male sexual displayÑis well known. What this book considers is the increasing evidence that hormones are just as important to social behavior. Peter Ellison and Peter Gray include the latest findingsÑboth practical and theoreticalÑon the hormonal component of both casual interactions and fundamental bonds. The contributors, senior scholars and rising scientists whose work is shaping the field, go beyond the proximate mechanics of neuroendocrine physiology to integrate behavioral endocrinology with areas such as reproductive ecology and life history theory. Ranging broadly across taxa, from birds and rodents to primates, the volume pays particular attention to human endocrinology and social relationships, a focus largely missing from most works of behavioral endocrinology.

Our world and bodies are becoming increasingly polluted with chemicals capable of interfering with our hormones and thus, possibly, our present and future neural and mental health. As authors Heather Patisaul and Scott Belcher outline, there is a large lack of data and evidence in this causal relationship, which begs a need for further study to accelerate progress in the endocrinology and neuroendocrinology fields. Endocrine Disruptors, Brain, and Behavior focuses on if and how these chemicals, known as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), affect the development and function of the brain and might be contributing to neural disorders rapidly rising in prevalence. The book provides an overall synthesis of the EDC field, including its historical roots, major hypotheses, key findings, and research gaps. The authors explain why even the concept of endocrine disruption is controversial in some circles, how differing definitions of endocrine disruption and what constitutes an "adverse" outcome on the brain shape public policy, and where the current capacity by different stakeholders (industry, academia, regulatory agencies) to evaluate chemicals for safety in a regulatory context begins and ends. The book concludes with suggestions for future research needs and a summary of emerging technology which might prove capable of more effectively evaluating existing and emerging chemicals for endocrine disrupting properties. As such, it provides the context for interdisciplinary and innovative input from a broad spectrum of fields, including those well-schooled in neuroscience, evolutionary biology, brain, behavior, sex differences, and neuroendocrinology.

Inspired by Carlos Beyer’s 50 years of pioneering research and influence on his students and colleagues, Behavioral Neuroendocrinology builds upon Beyer’s fundamental discoveries and concepts as well as their widespread implications. It presents original research and reviews on mechanisms — genomic and non-genomic — of steroid and protein hormone action; the role of steroid metabolism, especially aromatization, protein phosphorylation, and neurotransmitter action in mediating reproductive behavior and sexual differentiation; and brain and spinal cord mechanisms in sexual behavior and analgesia. This book presents a rich diversity of topics — lactation, maternal behavior, pheromone action, chronobiology, allodynia, angiogenesis, prostate physiology, sexual motivation, and specific brain systems, including vomeronasal system, cerebellum, preoptic area, hypothalamus, and spinal cord. This book brings together, in one source, an international "family" of researchers whose work has evolved in diverse but related ways from a seminal set of discoveries and concepts in behavioral neuroendocrinology.

Principles of Hormone/Behavior Relations, Second Edition, provides an introduction to the underlying principles of endocrine regulation of behavior, a newly emerging area of research within neurobiology and endocrinology. It addresses the properties of hormone/behavior relations, including the influence of family background, timing issues, neuroanatomical features, cellular mechanisms, and the importance of environmental context and evolution. This new edition incorporates critical advances in the field, also including increased coverage of hormonal influences on food intake, and on the cardiovascular system. The addition of entirely new principles provides further coverage of epigenetics and appetite. Thoroughly revised and updated, this book is an ideal resource for neuroscientists and researchers engaging in this rapidly expanding field of study. Provides a unique structure where each chapter addresses a key principle that is illustrated by numerous basic experimental and clinical examples Includes user-friendly features, such as boxed figures with extended captions and references, numerous clinical notes, and a comprehensive list of abbreviations Contains numerous illustrations that highlight both the clinical and basic science information

The subject of this book is neuroendocrinology, that branch of biological science devoted to the interactions between the two major integrative organ systems of animals-the endocrine and nervous systems. Although this science today reflects a fusion of endocrinology and neurobiology, this synthetic ap proach is relatively recent. At the beginning of the 20th century, when the British physiologists, Bayliss and Starling, first proposed endocrinology to be an independent field of inquiry, they went to great lengths to establish the autonomy of chemical secretions in general and their independence from nervous control in particular (Bayliss, W. M. , and Starling, E. H. , 1902, The mechanism of pancreatic secretion,]. Physiol. 28:325). They argued with Pav lov, who said that there was a strong influence of the nervous system on the gastrointestinal phenomena the endocrinologists were studying. For several decades, the English physiologists prevailed, at least in the West; and Pavlov's critique was not taken to heart by the practitioners of the newly emerging discipline of endocrinology. Through the work of Harris, the Scharrers, Sawyer, Everett, and others, there has been something of a scientific detente in the latter half of this century; the hybrid field of neuroendocrinology is now regarded as one of the corner stones of modern neural science and is of fundamental importance in basic and clinical endocrinology.