Publisher's Synopsis
This volume presents the proceedings of the fifth in a series of meetings devoted to examining the mechanism of the onset of puberty. It represents the most recent research data covering the major theme of the CNS and puberty, for example insights into the mechanism relating CNS control centers and body messengers such as steroids, leptin and IGFs. This book presents important new findings such as puberty and its disorders appearing to be developmentally regulated with critical pathophysiologic events occurring as early as in fetal life. Particular emphasis is given to the neuroendocrinology of puberty, the interactions between neuronal glial cells, the dialogue between body messengers and hypothalmic regulator centers and the development of a paradigm to study important neurobiological concepts such as the mechanism of a chronobiological process.