Hormones, the Brain and Behaviour

Full course description

This course will review the interrelationships among hormones, the brain and behaviour. Basic endocrine (hormone) system physiology will be introduced and the different approaches that researchers take to address questions of hormone-behaviour relationships will be discussed. The focus will be on three large ‘classes’ of hormones, i.e. ‘stress’ (cortisol), ‘social’ (oxytocin, vasopressin), and ‘sex’ hormones (testosterone, estradiol, progesterone). Those hormones will be linked to normal behavioural processes such as memory and social behaviour as well as to psychiatric conditions such as depression/anxiety and autism spectrum disorder. At the end of this course, you will have developed an understanding of a selection of topics related to behavioural neuroendocrinology.