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Steroid Hormones and Aggressive Behavior in Mammals

  • Chapter
The Physiology of Aggression and Defeat

Abstract

Certain steroid hormones have the ability to alter or modulate the level of excitability in adult brain structures that control the expression of aggression in some mammalian species. Steroids also have been implicated recently in the organization of these same neural tissues during critical periods of development. Conversely, concentrations of circulating hormones in the adult animal may be altered because of an aggressive encounter or because of stimuli inherent in a chronic dominance-subordination social system. The purpose of the present discussion, then, is to overview the literature concerning these relationships. On the behavioral side, we will be interested primarily in “spontaneous” or “inter-male” aggression (Scott, 1966 and Moyer, 1968, respectively) with a nod of recognition to the problems engendered by such categorization as well as by the term aggression itself (cf., Barnett, 1969). Taxonomically, this discussion will, by necessity, rely heavily on studies using house mice with rats and other mammals being considered secondarily.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Texas, Austin, USA

    F. H. Bronson

  2. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, USA

    C. Desjardins

Authors
  1. F. H. Bronson
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  2. C. Desjardins
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

    Basil E. Eleftheriou (Staff Scientist) (Staff Scientist)

  2. Center for Research on Social Behavior, Bowling Green University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

    John Paul Scott (Director) (Director)

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© 1971 Plenum Press, New York

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Bronson, F.H., Desjardins, C. (1971). Steroid Hormones and Aggressive Behavior in Mammals. In: Eleftheriou, B.E., Scott, J.P. (eds) The Physiology of Aggression and Defeat. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-1932-0_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-1932-0_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-1934-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-1932-0

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