12/24/2022 0 Comments Prison architect psych ward![]() ![]() Communication in the nervous system is analogous to traveling on a train. Several types of protein or peptide (small protein) hormones also influence behavior, including oxytocin, vasopressin, prolactin, and leptin.Īlthough neural and hormonal communication both rely on chemical signals, several prominent differences exist. Examples of hormones that influence behavior include steroid hormones such as testosterone (a common type of androgen), estradiol (a common type of estrogen), progesterone (a common type of progestin), and cortisol (a common type of glucocorticoid) (Table 1, A-B). However, hormones can operate over a greater distance and over a much greater temporal range than neurotransmitters (Focus Topic 1). Hormones are similar in function to neurotransmitters, the chemicals used by the nervous system in coordinating animals’ activities. Hormones are released from these glands into the blood, where they may travel to act on target structures at some distance from their origin. Hormones are organic chemical messengers produced and released by specialized glands called endocrine glands. To understand the hormone-behavior relationship, it is important briefly to describe hormones. This module describes, both phenomenologically and functionally, how hormones affect behavior. For example, are behavioral sex differences the result of hormones, the environment, or some combination of factors? Why are men much more likely than women to commit aggressive acts? Are hormones involved in mediating the so-called maternal “instinct”? Behavioral endocrinologists are interested in how the general physiological effects of hormones alter the development and expression of behavior and how behavior may influence the effects of hormones. Most people also know about the relationship between aggression and anabolic steroid hormones, and they know that administration of artificial steroid hormones sometimes results in uncontrollable, violent behavior called “roid rage.” Many different hormones can influence several types of behavior, but for the purpose of this module, we will restrict our discussion to just a few examples of hormones and behaviors. Students are generally familiar with the idea that sex-hormone concentrations increase in the blood during puberty and decrease as we age, especially after about 50 years of age. ![]() Many readers are likely already familiar with the general idea that hormones can affect behavior. This module describes the relationship between hormones and behavior.
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