Trends in behavioral endocrinology

This Research Topic is part of the annual “Trends in Behavioral Endocrinology” series, which highlights new research on the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying behavior. It brings together work on how hormones and neuropeptides interact with neural circuits, internal physiological state, developmental stage, and the social environment to regulate behavior. Behavioral neuroendocrinology continues to evolve as a field through the application of modern approaches to the study of endocrine regulation of behavior. Technical advances including transcriptomics, neural imaging, computational analyses and novel anatomical methods have enabled finer dissection of the neural circuitry that regulates hormone-dependent behavior and have helped reveal how hormones act through complex, context-dependent interactions with the nervous system. Comparative studies across diverse taxa continue to inform and deepen our understanding of general principles that underlie neural function.We welcome all article types, including Original Research, Review, Mini Review, and Perspective, that:a) report novel findings on hormone–behavior interactions;b) address open questions in the neuroendocrine regulation of behavior;c) connect mechanisms across levels of analysis, across species, or across sexes.Contributions may address both foundational and rapidly developing areas, including but not limited to:• Metabolic hormones and the regulation of feeding and motivated behavior. Actions of ghrelin, leptin, and insulin on hypothalamic circuits, including AgRP neurons, in the control of food intake, effort, and reward valuation; interoceptive signalling of energy state and its integration with mesolimbic dopamine circuits; sex differences in these processes; and state-dependent changes in food preference.• Glucocorticoids, the endocannabinoid system, and emotional memory. Glucocorticoid effects on the encoding, consolidation, and retrieval of emotionally arousing experience; interaction between glucocorticoid and endocannabinoid signalling in fear and emotional memory; individual differences in stress reactivity; and effects of early-life and chronic stress on later behavior.• Neuropeptides in stress and social behavior. Roles of oxytocin, vasopressin, and related neuropeptides in social recognition, affiliation, and bonding, and their interaction with the stress axis; neuroendocrine correlates and behavioral consequences of social isolation and loneliness across development and ageing; and relevance to conditions characterized by altered social behavior.• Chemosensory and pheromonal control of social and reproductive behavior. Hormonal modulation of olfactory and vomeronasal processing; pheromonal regulation of mate choice, aggression, and parental care; and sex differences in chemosensory circuits and their hormonal basis.• Hormonal regulation of behavior across the lifespan. Developmental and perinatal programming of neurobehavioral function; endocrine control of puberty and the onset of reproductive behavior; behavioral effects of hormonal change in ageing; sex differences across life stages; and epigenetic and gene–environment mechanisms shaping hormone–behavior relationships over time.• Integrative and translational directions. Work that links hormonal systems across behavioral domains, and that connects mechanisms identified in animal models to behavior and disorder in clinical populations.Together, these contributions aim to represent the current direction of behavioral endocrinology and the questions shaping its next stage. Topic editors: James Cherry, Piray Atsak, ALEXANDER REICHENBACH Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83879/trends-in-behavioral-endocrinology