As the papers in this special issue demonstrate, gonadal hormones have powerful effects on the development of the brain and behavior in human beings, as in other species. Both androgens and estrogens affect behavior throughout development, from early prenatal life through adulthood, as demonstrated in studies with a variety of methods in several species. The articles also describe attempts to identify the mechanisms--neural and basic behavioral--that mediate hormonal effects on complex human behaviors. This issue testifies to the breadth and vitality of research into the ways that hormones affect the development of sex-typical behavior, and illustrates several important themes that have emerged in human psychoneuroendocrinology. First, it is now clear that hormones do affect human behavior, and the important questions relate to the mechanisms and details of hormone action. Second, there are many ways to study hormone effects on human behavior, and this issue describes these methods and their products. Third, traditional conceptions of hormone-behavior relations have generally stood the test of time, but recent developments have begun to reveal the complexity of these relations. Taken as a whole, the articles in this special issue are interesting and worthwhile reading in their own right, but they may also act to stimulate developmental neuropsychologists to consider hormones in their own studies.

Volume 14, Numbers 2 & 3, 1998
Contents: S.A. Berenbaum, How Hormones Affect Behavioral and Neural Development: Introduction to the Special Issue. M.M. Clark, B.G. Galef, Jr., Effects of Intrauterine Position on the Behavior and Genital Morphology of Litter-Bearing Rodents. R.H. Fitch, P.E. Cowell, V.H. Denenberg, The Female Phenotype: Nature's Default? R.P. Michael, D. Zumpe, Developmental Changes in Behavior and in Steroid Uptake by the Male and Female Macaque Brain. D. McFadden, Sex Differences in the Auditory System. E. Hampson, J.F. Rovet, D. Altmann, Spatial Reasoning in Children With Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Due to 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency. C.L. Leveroni, S.A. Berenbaum, Early Androgen Effects on Interest in Infants: Evidence From Children With Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. L. Buchanan, J. Pavlovic, J. Rovet, A Re-examination of the Visuospatial Deficit in Turner Syndrome: Contributions of Working Memory. W.N. Tenhula, J.M. Bailey, Female Sexual Orientation and Pubertal Onset. D.M. Saucier, D. Kimura, Intrapersonal Motor But Not Extrapersonal Targeting Skill Is Enhanced During the Midluteal Phase of the Menstrual Cycle. C. Szekely, E. Hampson, D.P. Carey, M.A. Goodale, Oral Contraceptive Use Affects Manual Praxis But Not Simple Visually-Guided Movements. J.S. Janowsky, B. Chavez, B.D. Zamboni, E. Orwoll, The Cognitive Neuropsychology of Sex Hormones in Men and Women.