Behavioral Endocrinology 200.344

This course concerns the interrelationships among hormones, brain and behavior. Therefore, it considers both how hormones influence the development and activation of behavior as well as how behavioral interactions regulate endocrine physiology. The neural regulation of hormonal systems will also be considered. One of the main topics covered in this class concerns the effects of sex steroid hormones on various reproductive behaviors (including both sexual behaviors and parental behaviors). Other topics that will be covered include the endocrine regulation of aggressive behaviors, biological rhythms, energy balance, stress, as well as learning and memory. In addition to steroid hormones, the effects of the major classes of hormones on behavior including peptide and protein hormones as well as the monoaminergic hormones will be discussed. The course will primarily concern hormone-brain-behavior relations in non-human animals but humans will also be considered when the appropriate data are available.