In 1936, Eugen Steinach and colleagues published a work that brought steroid biochemistry to the study of sexual behavior and, using synthetic androgens and estrogens, foreshadowed by an astonishing 4 decades the discovery of the central role of estrogen in the sexual behavior of male rats. We offer an English translation of that paper, accompanied by historical commentary that presents Steinac...

1Faculty of Human Sciences, Medical School Hamburg, Kaiserkai 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany 2Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania 3Physical Activity, Physical Education, Health and Sport Research Centre (PAPESH), Sports Science Department, School of Science and Engineering, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland 4Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, Bremgartenstrasse 145, 30...

Male Golden-collared manakins (Manacus vitellinus) of Panama perform an acrobatic and noisy courtship display, the result of an intense process of sexual selection. These birds have a lek mating system with the reproductive success of males depending almost entirely on their courtship. We have studied this remarkable behavior and investigated seasonal cycles of testosterone secretion, hormonal ...

Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones act on the brain to regulate diverse functions, from behavior and homeostasis to the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Local regeneration and metabolism of GCs can occur in target tissues through the actions of the 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases [11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) and 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase typ...

The family Myxinidae embraces all hagfish species, and occupies an evolutionary niche intermediate between ancestral vertebrates and the gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates). Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) modulates neuroendocrine activity in vertebrates and works in the context of the hypothalamic-pituitary (H-P) axis. The appearance of this neuroendocrine axis marks one of the most crucial...

A short historical review from the early days of neuroendocrinology is presented recognizing hormones secreted by the pituitary gland; control of its functions by nuclei of the hypothalamus through the release of unknown substances in special capillary vessels; characterization of these releasing factors as peptides; studies of their mode of action; their use in clinical medicine; new and still...

Martien J. H. Kas,1 Birgitte Tiesjema,1 Gertjan van Dijk,2 Keith M. Garner,1 Gregory S. Barsh,3 Olivier Ter Brake,4 Joost Verhaagen,4 and Roger A. H. Adan1 1Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology and Anatomy, University Medical Centre Utrecht, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2Division of Neuroendocrinology, Department of Animal Physiology, University of Groningen,...

The three-dimensional (3D) analysis of anatomical ultrastructures is extremely important in most fields of biological research. Although it is very difficult to perform 3D image analysis on exact serial sets of ultrathin sections, 3D reconstruction from serial ultrathin sections can generally be used to obtain 3D information. However, this technique can only be applied to small areas of a speci...