Recent advances in non-invasive sampling techniques have led to an increase in the study of hormones and behaviour. Behaviour is complex but can be explained to a large degree by interactions between various psychological and physiological components, such as the interplay between hormonal and psychological systems. This new textbook from Nick Neave offers a detailed introduction to the fascinating science of behavioural endocrinology from a psychological perspective, examining the relationships between hormones and behaviour in both humans and animals. Neave explains the endocrine system and the ways in which hormones can influence brain structure and function, and presents a series of examples to demonstrate how hormones can influence specific behaviours, including sexual determination and differentiation, neurological differentiation, parental behaviours, aggressive behaviours and cognition. This introductory textbook will appeal to second and third year social science undergraduate students in psychology and biomedicine.

This book is a graduate level guide to the intersection between animal social behaviour and behavioural endocrinology. The fascinating connections between steroids, peptides and social behaviour are explored through an integrative and comparative approach combining various methods.

Rough-and-tumble play provided one of the paradigmatic examples of the appli- tion of ethological methods, back in the 1970's. Since then, a modest number of - searchers have developed our knowledge of this kind of activity, using a variety of methods, and addressing some quite fundamental questions about age changes, sex diff- ences, nature and function of behaviour. In this chapter I will review work on this topic, mentioning particularly the interest in comparing results from different informants and different methods of investigation. Briefly, rough-and-tumble play (or R&T for short) refers to a cluster of behaviours whose core is rough but playful wrestling and tumbling on the ground; and whose general characteristic is that the behaviours seem to be agonistic but in a non-serious, playful c- text. The varieties of R&T, and the detailed differences between rough-and-tumble play and real fighting, will be discussed later. 2. A BRIEF HISTORY OF RESEARCH ON R&T In his pioneering work on human play, Groos (1901) described many kinds of rough-and-tumble play. However, R&T was virtually an ignored topic from then until the late 1960's. There was, of course, a flowering of observational research on children in the 1920s and 1930s, especially in North America; but this research had a strong practical o- entation, and lacked the cross-species perspective and evolutionary orientation present in Groos' work.

An Introduction to Hormones and Behavior explores the ways in which hormones modulate behavior and vice versa. The volume focuses on the key principles of the topic and features original readings from classic studies, as well as more recent research, to provide students with a holistic understanding of the interplay of hormones and behavior. The text begins with a chapter dedicated to endocrine principles and methods, then advances to discuss sexual differentiation, sex differences, and development. Later chapters address the distinctive characteristics and differences between male and female reproduction, as well as male and female parental behaviors. In the closing chapters, students learn about social behavior, stress, and how hormones influence human behavior. Each chapter features prewriting exercises, an introduction to provide context and background information, select readings, and critical thinking questions. The revised first edition includes two new readings, "Testosterone and Cortisol Release among Spanish Soccer Fans Watching the 2010 World Cup Final" and "Hormones and Sleep." An Introduction to Hormones and Behavior is an excellent resource for undergraduate and graduate courses in hormones and behavior, behavioral endocrinology, and physiological psychology.

Although most will be at least somewhat familiar with the biological role hormones play during puberty and pregnancy, many are likely unaware that hormones - chemical messengers that are secreted by cells and that travel through the body to reach specialized receptors - impact multiple aspects of our lives from conception onward. Behavioral endocrinology and evolutionary psychology are complementary disciplines wherein scholars seek to understand human behavior. Evolutionary psychologists contend that human psychology and behavior are functional outcomes of natural and sexual selection pressures encountered in the ancestral environment. In this view, selection pressures designed adaptations of the mind and body, which produce behavior through a variety of psychological, neurological, and physiological mechanisms.

This volume is an overview of research examining the relationship between hormones and aggressive behavior. The last 15 years have witnessed a tremen dous growth of knowledge in this area, yet reviews written by specialists are virtually nonexistent. This work is an attempt to provide a comprehensive and cohesive synthesis of this literature. Chapters 1-7 provide an analysis of hor monal influences on the major forms of aggressive behavior, including intermale, interfemale, shock-induced, maternal, territorial, and predatory aggression. The focus of Chapters 8-12 is an examination of the mechanisms through which hormones might act to produce changes in agonistic responding. Genetic, de velopmental, neural, and biochemical influences are considered. It is well known that environment, social context, and experience modulate the effects of hor mones on behavior. Thus, Chapters 13-15 are designed to review the literature concerning hormone-pheromone interactions, hormonal responses to compe tition, and the influence of social context on the endocrine system and aggressive behavior. Frequently, the principles advanced by behavioral endocrinologists are based on research in one species, the rodent. To provide a more comparative perspective and to examine specifically the generality of those principles gen erated for rodents, Chapters 16-22 examine hormone-aggression relationships in a variety of species, including fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles, infrahuman primates, humans, ungulates, and insects. This volume should be useful to both beginning and advanced researchers in animal behavior, behavioral endocri nology, physiological psychology, neuroendocrinology, zoology, physiology, and psychiatry.

Oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) are the paramount social hormones in mammals and accumulating evidence also strengthens the unique role of these neuropeptides also in human social behavior. Indeed from voles to humans, OT and AVP modulate an intriguing number of social behaviors resonating across species such as the quality of pair bonding, parenting, modulations of social stress, in-group & out-group relationships and social communications. Recent molecular genetic studies of the oxytocin (OXTR), arginine vasopressin 1a (AVPR1a) and arginine vasopressin 1b (AVPR1b) receptors have strengthened the role of these two neuropeptides in a range of normal and pathological human behaviors. Importantly, dysfunctions in the OT and AVP neural pathways are likely contributing to deficits in social skills and communication in disorders such as autism. This Research Topic covers the state of the science and provides a deep view of social hormone research in humans to illustrates how pharmacological, genetic and neuroimaging strategies can be successfully combined toward unraveling the mystery of how human social behavior is regulated. Understanding human social behavior at the molecular level, i.e. social neuroscience, is not only crucial for treatment and diagnosis of disorders characterized by deficits in social cognition but also has important implications in establishing the congruence of findings from different approaches in the Social Sciences and Biology. We bring together in this issue a broad spectrum of investigators from the neurosciences, genetics, psychology, economics and political science towards a deeper understanding of the biological roots of human social behavior. We hope that this transdisciplinary Research Topic will bring new insights and ideas to the field, give future perspectives while also addressing open questions and limitation in order to develop intervention and prevention strategies, and to translate the basic social hormone research into clinical applications. This Research Topic covers the state of the science and provides a deep view of social hormone research in humans to illustrates how pharmacological, genetic and neuroimaging strategies can be successfully combined toward unraveling the mystery of how human social behavior is regulated. Understanding human social behavior at the molecular level, aka social neuroscience, is not only crucial for treatment and diagnosis of disorders characterized by deficits in social cognition but such an understanding has important implications for consilience of the Social Sciences and Biology. We bring together in this issue a broad spectrum of investigators from the neurosciences, genetics, psychology, economics and political science towards a deeper understanding of the biological roots of human social behavior. We hope that this transdisciplinary Research Topic will bring new insights and ideas to the field, give future perspectives while also addressing open questions and limitation in order to develop intervention and prevention strategies, and to translate the basic social hormone research into clinical applications.

Principles of Hormone/Behavior Relations, Second Edition, provides an introduction to the underlying principles of endocrine regulation of behavior, a newly emerging area of research within neurobiology and endocrinology. It addresses the properties of hormone/behavior relations, including the influence of family background, timing issues, neuroanatomical features, cellular mechanisms, and the importance of environmental context and evolution. This new edition incorporates critical advances in the field, also including increased coverage of hormonal influences on food intake, and on the cardiovascular system. The addition of entirely new principles provides further coverage of epigenetics and appetite. Thoroughly revised and updated, this book is an ideal resource for neuroscientists and researchers engaging in this rapidly expanding field of study. - Provides a unique structure where each chapter addresses a key principle that is illustrated by numerous basic experimental and clinical examples - Includes user-friendly features, such as boxed figures with extended captions and references, numerous clinical notes, and a comprehensive list of abbreviations - Contains numerous illustrations that highlight both the clinical and basic science information

Hormones, Health and Behavior looks at the relationship of human biology and human society at the intersection of behavior, hormones and health.

"Offering the first comprehensive analysis of this topic in over 30 years, this book is sure to fuel discussion and debate among researchers, practitioners, and students in developmental psychology, child clinical psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, criminology, and related disciplines. In the classroom, it is a unique and valuable text for graduate-level courses."--BOOK JACKET.