Presenting a complete overview of the effects of steroid hormones in the brain and describing new methods for investigating these effects, this book discusses theories on steroid action in the central nervous system and the techniques for receptor localization and quantification and enzyme regulation. The author explores the use of transgenic/antisense strategies to determine sites and the cellular effects of steroid action in the brain. He covers steroid action on mood, cognition, sensorimotor action, neuroprotection, and plasticity, and describes methods using molecular, electrophysical, and behavioral techniques to link cellular mechanisms of steroid action with behavioral effects.