Bruce Sherman McEwen, PhD
Every issue of The Mind will feature an autobiographical excerpt from The History of Neuroscience in Biography, edited by Larry S. Squire, and published by Society of Neuroscience. The volumes in
the series highlight the life and discoveries of eminent senior neuroscientists.
Excerpts are selected by Manuela Roosevelt, who also writes a brief summary of the fuller and longer autobiographical piece.
The full chapter is available for download at this link: https://www.doi.org/10.1523/hon.008005
In this issue, we feature Bruce Sherman McEwen, PhD (1938-2020).
The KIM network in Baden-Württemberg, Germany promotes the implementation
Bruce Sherman McEwen, PhD (1938–2020), was a pioneering neuroendocrinologist whose work fundamentally reshaped our modern understanding of how hormones influence the brain and behavior. A longtime Professor at Rockefeller University and head of the Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendo-
crinology, McEwen led the way in demonstrating that the brain is a principal target of steroid hormones and a dynamic organ of structural plasticity. His discovery of adrenal steroid receptors in the hippocampus in 1968 transformed prevailing views of stress biology and opened new avenues for investigating how circulating hormones affect cognition, emotion, and vulnerability to disease.
Over more than five decades, McEwen’s research bridged molecular biology, systems neuroscience, and behavioral science. He elucidated how glucocorticoids, estrogens, and other hormones act
through both genomic and non-genomic mechanisms to remodel synapses, regulate neurogenesis, and shape neural circuitry in the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex . His work established
that stress induces region-specific, and often reversible, structural changes in the adult brain, challenging the long-held belief that mature neural architecture is static.
Beyond the laboratory, McEwen introduced the influential concepts of “allostasis” and “allostatic load,” providing a unifying framework for understanding how chronic stress and adverse social
conditions become biologically embedded, contributing to physical and mental illness. Through this integrative approach, he helped lay the foundations for social neuroscience and translational
stress research, linking brain plasticity to public health, resilience, and disease risk across the lifespan.
Widely honored for his scientific leadership, McEwen’s legacy endures in contemporary neuroscience through his transformative insights into hormone–brain interactions and the adaptive, yet
vulnerable, plasticity of the human brain.
Prof. McEwen’s enduring research has broadened the scope and altered the definition of neuroendocrinology. His multilevel approach to questions, ranging from the molecule to human behavior, has
enhanced the impact of his work and stimulated research in fields as disparate as molecular biology and public policy. He has inspired numerous young scientists to be creative and independent
thinkers.