This book is an introduction to neuroendocrinology from the point of view of the behavioral neurosciences. It is intended for students in Psychology, Biology, Nursing, Health Education, and other fields of Arts and Science and for more advanced students in physiology, anatomy and medicine who have not had a course on neuroendocrinology. It is based on the first half of my Hormones and Behavior lectures at Dalhousie University. While my lectures, and thus the book, focus primarily on mammalian research, the principles outlined apply to all vertebrates.

This book provides an outline of the neuroendocrine system and will give you the vocabulary necessary to understand the interaction between hormones and the brain. This information is essential to the understanding of the effects of hormones on behavior, but contains little reference to behavior until Chapter 14. In fact, it contains mainly endocrinology, physiology and a bit of cell biology, immunology and biochemistry. Do not despair. Once you master this material, the study of how hormones influence developmental processes and behavior will be easier to understand. This book focuses primarily on the neural actions of hormones, so many of the peripheral physiological actions of hormones, such as regulation of metabolism, water balance, growth, and the regulation of calcium, sodium and potassium levels, which are the focus of traditional endocrinology texts, are referred to only in reference to their importance in the neuroendocrine system.