Neuroendocrine mechanisms of the formation of adaptive behavior.

The behavioral and neuroendocrine responses of the body to external changes are determined by genetically determined programs of individual development, and are established during pre- and post-natal ontogenesis. These responses, however, can be changed by stress or administration of corticosteroid hormones in "critical periods" of the body's development. Mineralo- and glucocorticoid receptors mediate the "inhibition" of particular neuroendocrine or neuromediator systems, promoting behavioral modification.