BRAIN FUNCTION

Brain Function

Brain Function

Introduction

Hormones are chemical substances that are produced, stored, and released into the bloodstream by secretory structures (glands) of the endocrine system. The endocrine system, in turn, is designed to modulate various body functions, including digestion, metabolism, growth and development, reproduction, and response to stress and injury. Hormones are released by specific glands, move through the bloodstream to target locations, and act there upon cellular “receptors” designed specifically to receive and be activated by particular hormones. Hormones are capable of altering the structure and function of many organs, including the brain. There are more than 50 distinct hormones that play diverse and pivotal roles in development and homeostasis and that may also affect behavior. Among the most well-known are the sex or steroid hormones, including androgen (e.g., testosterone, produced in the testes, ovaries, and adrenals) and estrogen (produced in the ovaries, testes, and adrenals). Alone, these two groups of substances exert widespread effects on the developmental process, as well as throughout life, and will be the primary exemplars of hormones in the following discussion(Altar, Marshall, 2007).

Research Question

There is a correlation between changes in Brain Function due to hormonal depletion.

Understanding the role that hormones play in shaping human behavior.

Method

The research will be based on secondary data collection. The data will be extracted from

various journals, articles and books. In secondary research data will be extracted from various

journals, books and articles. To analyze the changes in brain function and hormones we used

secondary research methodology.

Analysis

Many hormones affect social behavior, often by directly influencing some aspect of brain function, although there are certainly other routes to influencing behavior. Hormones can only affect tissue that has receptors for them. If there is no receptor for a hormone in the brain, it cannot affect brain function. However, many hormones do have receptors in the brain. In social psychology, some of the most researched hormones include testosterone and estrogen (often called sex hormones), as well as vasopressin and oxytocin. Although it is often said that testosterone is the male hormone and estrogen a female hormone, is should be stated that all people have all of these hormones—it is just the amount that differs.

Hormonal links to human behavior are of interest to a variety of social psychologists but perhaps especially to those who are trying to understand topics like falling in love and sexual motivation, dominance hierarchies, and the reasons that differences exist in the behavior of men and women.

Testing for Hormone and Behavior Connections

Psychologists who are interested in understanding the role that hormones play in shaping human behavior rely on several types of research approaches. These would include animal research where hormone levels are experimentally altered, studies of humans with certain types of disorders that change the levels of hormones, direct measurement of hormone levels via immunoassay, and studies that take advantage of natural variations that occur in the levels of some hormones. With each approach, the psychologist is trying to see if changes in hormone levels relate to changes in behavior ...