An Introduction To 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.

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

"A market-leading text, An Introduction to Behavioral Endocrinology, Sixth Edition, provides an updated, integrated presentation of the study of hormone-behavior-brain interactions. Maintaining a comparative approach, the text explores the endocrine mechanisms that have evolved in both human and nonhuman animals to solve common problems in survival and reproduction"--

This book is designed as an introductory text in neuroendocrinology; the study of the interaction between the brain and endocrine system and the influence of this on behaviour. The endocrine glands, pituitary gland and hypothalamus and their interactions and hormones are discussed. The action of steroid and thyroid hormone receptors and the regulation of target cell response to hormones is examined. The function of neuropeptides is discussed with respect to the neuroendocrine system and behaviour. The neuroimmune system and lymphokines are described and the interaction between the neuroendocrine and neuroimmune systems discussed. Finally, methods for studying hormonal influences on behaviour are outlined. Each chapter has review and essay questions designed for advanced students and honours or graduate students with a background in neuroscience, respectively.

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.

Recent advances in non-invasive sampling techniques have led to an increase in the study of hormones and behaviour. Behaviour is complex but can be explained to a large degree by interactions between various psychological and physiological components, such as the interplay between hormonal and psychological systems. This new textbook from Nick Neave offers a detailed introduction to the fascinating science of behavioural endocrinology from a psychological perspective, examining the relationships between hormones and behaviour in both humans and animals. Neave explains the endocrine system and the ways in which hormones can influence brain structure and function, and presents a series of examples to demonstrate how hormones can influence specific behaviours, including sexual determination and differentiation, neurological differentiation, parental behaviours, aggressive behaviours and cognition. This introductory textbook will appeal to second and third year social science undergraduate students in psychology and biomedicine.