Abstract
During the last century, clues that hormones might affect behavior arose both from laboratory experiments and in the clinic. Frank Beach, working with animals at the University of California, Berkeley, demonstrated the activation of male sexual behavior by testosterone injections, as well as the facilitation of female sexual behavior by treatments with estrogens and progesterone. In the clinic, it was clear that hyperthyroid patients could be nervous and irritable, while hypothyroid patients would be sluggish and dull. As well, eunuchs (lacking testosterone from the testes) had no libido, and thus, clinical experience went hand in hand with Beach’s experimental demonstration.
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Abbreviations
- a-MSH:
-
A-melanocyte-stimulating hormone
- ACTH:
-
Adrenocorticotropin hormone
- ADHD:
-
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- AgRP:
-
Agouti-related peptide
- cAMP:
-
Cyclic adenosine monophosphate
- CA:
-
Cornu ammonis region (hippocampus)
- CCK:
-
Cholecystokinin
- CRH:
-
Corticotropin-releasing hormone
- DHT:
-
Dihydrotestosterone
- DNA:
-
Deoxyribonucleic acid
- E2 :
-
Estradiol
- EPM:
-
Elevated-plus maze
- ER:
-
Estrogen receptor
- GAD:
-
Generalized anxiety disorder
- HPA:
-
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal
- HPG:
-
Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal
- HPT:
-
Hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid
- mRNA:
-
Messenger ribonucleic acid
- NPY:
-
Neuropeptide Y
- P:
-
Postnatal day
- PTSD:
-
Posttraumatic stress disorder
- PVN:
-
Paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus
- SNP:
-
Small nucleotide polymorphism
Further Reading
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Litvin, Y., Pfaff, D.W. (2013). Hormone Effects on Behavior. In: Pfaff, D.W. (eds) Neuroscience in the 21st Century. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1997-6_59
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1997-6_59
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-1996-9
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