2013/10/28 by Jeffrey A. French, Aaryn C. Mustoe, Jon Cavanaugh +1 · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Psychology · Medicine · #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior #Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior #Aggression #Hormone #Steroid #Gonadal Steroid Hormones #Endocrinology #Steroid hormone #Internal medicine #Biology #Physiology #Psychology #Medicine #Developmental psychology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1098/rstb.2013.0084
openalex publication_date 2013/10/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Dimorphism on dominance and agonistic behaviour in mammals tends to be strongly biased toward males. In this review, we focus on a select few species of mammals in which females are as or more aggressive than males, and/or are dominant to males, and explore the role of androgenic hormones in mediating this important difference. While the data are not as clear-cut as those published on traditional laboratory mammals, our review highlights important endocrine substrates for both organizational and activational influences of steroids on female aggressive behaviour. We highlight areas in which further observations and experiments are crucial, especially the potential facilitative effects of androgens on female aggression. Finally, new and innovative techniques, including molecular genetics and receptor pharmacology, portend important insights into the ways in which androgenic hormones regulate aggressive behaviour in 'atypical' female mammals.