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Hormones and Behavior

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Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

Introduction

Hormones are secretions from the ductless glands (known as endocrine glands) and specialized cells in the specific animal organs, which circulate through blood to reach target destinations in specific parts of the body (including the brain) for action.

Modern view for the hormones is that a hormone is any substance that acts at the cellular level to initiate, stop, or modulate a cellular process, and they include all chemical messengers synthesized by the body that act by binding with high affinity to target cells within the same individual. Some scientists also consider pheromones as hormones. Pheromones are those molecules which act in a similar way as hormones – leave the body of one individual to act on another individual. The site of action can be nearby or at a distant target.

Hormones can act via paracrine, autocrine, or intracrine mechanisms. A hormone may act both locally and at distant target sites traveling through the bloodstream. To enter the brain, hormones...

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Correspondence to Ashutosh Kumar .

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Kumar, A., Kumar, P., Faiq, M.A., Sharma, V.K., Sesham, K., Kulandhasamy, M. (2018). Hormones and Behavior. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_476-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_476-2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Hormones and Behavior
    Published:
    20 March 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_476-2

  2. Original

    Hormones and Behavior
    Published:
    06 February 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_476-1