Prerequisite: C- or better in BSCI330, NEUR200, or PSYC202. (Sponsoring Dept.: BIOL). Acceptable toward Biological Sciences Specialization Areas: ECEV, GENB (Cell Biology category), and PHNB. Cross-listing with PSYC489G. Credit only granted for BSCI338N or PSYC489G.
A comprehensive overview of the field of behavioral endocrinology, the study of the relationship between hormones and behavior, from a psychobiological perspective. Examine the major mammalian endocrine systems, how hormones influence sex determination, how hormones underlie sex differences in brain structure and function, the role of hormones in parental and social behaviors, mood disorders, homeostasis, cognition, and stress. Both normal and abnormal hormonal pathologies will be discussed. Due to the physiological and experimental perspectives, much of the phenomenology will be based on research in species other than humans. This species comparative approach will reveal interesting "ways of doing things" that are intriguingly different from how "humans do things."