This volume is an overview of research examining the relationship between hormones and aggressive behavior. The last 15 years have witnessed a tremen­ dous growth of knowledge in this area, yet reviews written by specialists are virtually nonexistent. This work is an attempt to provide a comprehensive and cohesive synthesis of this literature. Chapters 1-7 provide an analysis of hor­ monal influences on the major forms of aggressive behavior, including intermale, interfemale, shock-induced, maternal, territorial, and predatory aggression. The focus of Chapters 8-12 is an examination of the mechanisms through which hormones might act to produce changes in agonistic responding. Genetic, de­ velopmental, neural, and biochemical influences are considered. It is well known that environment, social context, and experience modulate the effects of hor­ mones on behavior. Thus, Chapters 13-15 are designed to review the literature concerning hormone-pheromone interactions, hormonal responses to compe­ tition, and the influence of social context on the endocrine system and aggressive behavior. Frequently, the principles advanced by behavioral endocrinologists are based on research in one species, the rodent. To provide a more comparative perspective and to examine specifically the generality of those principles gen­ erated for rodents, Chapters 16-22 examine hormone-aggression relationships in a variety of species, including fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles, infrahuman primates, humans, ungulates, and insects. This volume should be useful to both beginning and advanced researchers in animal behavior, behavioral endocri­ nology, physiological psychology, neuroendocrinology, zoology, physiology, and psychiatry.

I. Hormonal Determinants of Aggressive Behavior.- 1. Pituitary-Gonadal Influences on Social Aggression.- 2. Pituitary-Adrenocortical Effects on Intermale Agonistic Behavior.- 3. Hormones and Aggression in Female Mammals.- 4. Hormonal Influences on Maternal Aggression.- 5. Hormones and Infanticide.- 6. Hormonal Influences on Shock-Induced Fighting.- 7. Hormonal Influences on Territorial Marking Behavior.- II. Mechanisms of Hormone Action and Aggressive Behavior.- 8. Genetics, Hormones, and Aggression.- 9. Models of Early Hormonal Effects on Intrasex Aggression in Mice.- 10. Hormone-Brain Interactions and Their Influence on Agonistic Behavior.- 11. Molecular Mechanisms of Steroid Hormone Actions in the Brain.- 12. Hormone-Drug Interactions and Their Influence on Aggressive Behavior.- III. THe Environment, Hormones, and Aggressive Behavior.- 13. Conditions of Housing, Hormones, and Aggressive Behavior.- 14. Pheromonal Influence on Aggressive Behavior.- 15. The Hormonal Responses to Competition and Their Behavioral Significance.- IV. Hormones and Aggressive Behavior in Selected Vertebrates.- 16. Hormones and Aggressive Behavior in Teleost Fishes.- 17. Hormonal Influences on Avian Aggressive Behavior.- 18. Physiological Ethology of Aggression in Amphibians and Reptiles.- 19. Hormonal Influences on Aggressive Behavior in Ungulates.- 20. The Interaction of Hormones, Behavior, and Social Context in Nonhuman Primates.- 21. Hormones, Aggression, and Dominance in Humans.- 22. Hormonal Influences on Invertebrate Aggressive Behavior.