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Estrogens, Brain Cell Function, and Behavior

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Biological Regulation and Development

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Abstract

The relationship between the gonads and the brain has long been a matter of some interest, judging from the writings of Aristotle in 330 B.C. concerning the behavioral sequelae of castration of various domestic animals (see Dorfman and Shipley, 1956). In fact, one of the first experiments in the field of endocrinology, performed in 1849, established the humoral influences of the testes on sexual and aggressive behavior and vocalization in the rooster (Berthold, 1849). Recent advances in endocrinology during the past 20 years have made possible major new strides toward understanding how such humoral influences by steroid hormones on brain come about at the cellular and molecular level. And with the recognition of behavior as a feasible endpoint for biological investigations, the analysis of hormone-dependent behaviors has become an increasingly popular and useful parameter in the study of the mechanism of hormone action.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, 10021, USA

    Bruce S. McEwen

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  1. Bruce S. McEwen
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

    Robert F. Goldberger

  2. University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA

    Keith R. Yamamoto

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© 1982 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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McEwen, B.S. (1982). Estrogens, Brain Cell Function, and Behavior. In: Goldberger, R.F., Yamamoto, K.R. (eds) Biological Regulation and Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-1125-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-1125-6_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-1127-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-1125-6

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