Estrogen and testosterone have an important impact on the operation of certain parts of the brain. This book describes the neurobiological bases for the understanding of the interactions between these sex hormones and the brain. It covers a broad range of topics, extending from the molecular and cellular processes, through the action of steroids on neurotransmission, all the way to defining the brain circuitry involved in both male and female behavior. This volume presents a snapshot of the rapidly advancing field of reproductive neuroendocrinology and will be an important resource for graduate students and professionals in neuroscience and animal behavior.

The book provides chapters on sex hormones and their modulation in neurodegenerative processes and pathologies, from basic molecular mechanisms, physiology, gender differences, to neuroprotection and clinical aspects for potential novel pharmacotherapy approaches. The book contains 14 chapters written by authors from various biomedical professions, from basic researchers in biology and physiology to medicine and veterinary medicine, pharmacologists, psychiatrist, etc. Chapters sum up the past and current knowledge on sex hormones, representing original new insights into their role in brain functioning, mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. The book is written for a broad range of audience, from biomedical students to highly profiled medical specialists and biomedical researchers, helping them to expand their knowledge on sex hormones in neurodegenerative processes and opening new questions for further investigation.

Steroid hormones are unique compounds in that they are active at the interface of peripheral endocrine events and neural mechanisms. Thus their effects present an important peripheral signaling system to alter brain function. This volume presents state-of-the-art and classical techniques for the study of steroid hormones and their receptors and their effects and actions. - Comprehensive protocols included for the study of Steroid kinetics and metabolism - Steroid receptors - Molecular and cellular effects of steroids - Steroid effects on integrated systems

This book analyzes the effects of estrogens and progesterone on brain cells, the immune system, neuro inflammation, myelin formation and steroid receptor distribution, as well as their clinical impacts. It also explores the relationship between sex-steroid withdrawal and the development of brain symptoms such as hot flushes, sleep disorders, mood changes, depression and also cognitive disorders and dementia, as well as the effects of hormone menopause therapy on such symptoms and diseases. Starting with obstetrical history and cardiovascular risk in later life, the second part of the book examines the effects of estrogens and progestogens on vascular tissues, atherosclerosis and coronary heart diseases, as well as the impact of hormone replacement therapies on cardiovascular risks and mortality. This volume is a useful, clear and up-to-date tool for gynecologists, endocrinologists, neurologists and cardiologists, and serves as a valuable source of information for all physicians involved in women’s health.

A collection of foundational texts on the nature and behavioral consequences of sex differences in the brain, allowing readers to follow the development of a rapidly growing but contentious field and giving them the tools to analyze emerging scientific findings from many perspectives. This collection of foundational papers on sex differences in the brain traces the development of a much-invoked, fast-growing young field at the intersection of brain and behavior. The reader is introduced to the meaning and nature of sexual dimorphisms, the mechanisms and consequences of steroid hormone action, and the impact of the field on interpretations of sexuality and gender. Building on each other in point-counterpoint fashion, the papers tell a fascinating story of an emerging science working out its core assumptions. Experimental and theoretical papers, woven together by editor's introductions, open a window onto knowledge in the making and a vigorous debate between reductionist and pluralist interpreters. Five major sections include papers on conceptual and methodological background, central nervous system dimorphisms, mechanisms for creating dimorphisms, dimorphisms and cognition, and dimorphisms and identity. Each section builds from basic concepts to early experiments, from experimental models to humans, and from molecules to mind. Papers by such leading scholars as Arthur Arnold, Frank Beach, Anne Fausto-Sterling, Patricia Goldman-Rakic, Doreen Kimura, Simon LeVay, Bruce McEwen, Michael Merzenich, Bertram O'Malley, Geoffrey Raisman, and Dick Swaab, illustrate a rich blend of perspectives, approaches, methods, and findings. Sex and the Brain will show students how a scientific paper can be analyzed from many perspectives, and supply them with critical tools for judging a rapidly emerging science in a contentious area.

A compilation of cutting-edge research, Neuroplasticity, Development, and Steroid Hormone Action explores the effects of steroid hormones on brain development, function, and aging. The experimental approaches used by the authors ranges from molecular to behavioral and endocrine to neurobiological. It contains scientific photographs, line drawings, tables, color illustrations, and graphs, this interesting and timely text covers the neuroplastic effects of steroid hormones throughout the lifetime of various animal models, such as bees, fish, lizards, turtles, birds, mice, rats, and primates.

Steroid Hormone Regulation of the Brain focuses on the advancement of knowledge of the properties of brain steroid receptors and steroid target nerve cells, including the actions of gonadal steroids, adrenocortical steroids, and androgenic steroids on the brain. The selection features the work of authors who have inspiringly conducted extensive studies on the action of steroid hormones. The book starts with discussions that point out that steroid hormones not only function through intracellular steroid receptors, but possibly through steroid membrane actions as well. Studies to support this claim are presented. As to the action of steroid hormones on presynaptic transmitter mechanisms, the book suggests that adrenocortical and gonadal steroids can create alterations in noradrenaline, adrenaline, and dopamine levels and turnover within the hypothalamus and preoptic area. The effects of catecholestrogens on the brain are also elaborated. A contribution to this paper stresses that estrogens have antidopaminergic action in the extrapyramidal system. This idea is identified through a series of behavioral experiments and measurements of the levels of striatal acetylcholine. This selection is recommended to scientists interested in studying the effect of hormones on the brain.