Acute Influences of Estrogen and Testosterone on Divergent and Convergent Thinking in Postmenopausal Women

Abstract

Previous studies indicated an enhanced capability of divergent creative thinking in young women during the ovulatory phase, which expressed itself also by an increased dimensional complexity of ongoing electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. Considering the enhanced plasma levels of estrogen and testosterone characterizing the ovulatory phase, we tested whether short-term administration of estrogen or testosterone in postmenopausal women with constantly low levels of gonadal steroids induces similar changes in divergent thinking. In two placebo-controlled cross-over studies, healthy postmenopausal women (n ¼ 12, in each study, mean age 58 years, range 47-65 years) were treated transdermally over 3 days with estrogen and testosterone, respectively, at doses inducing plasma hormone concentrations comparable with those observed in young women around ovulation. Capabilities of divergent thought and convergent analytical thought, performance on motor perseveration, and verbal memory were examined. EEG activity was recorded while subjects performed on tasks of thinking and during mental relaxation. Estrogen impaired divergent thinking (po0.01) and enhanced convergent thinking, motor perseveration, and memory for the initial word list (po0.05 for all tests). In parallel, EEG dimensional complexity was reduced (po0.05). Overall, these changes indicate an estrogen-induced shift from a 'divergent' towards a more 'convergent' mode of processing. However, overall less consistent, effects of testosterone were opposite to those of estrogen. It increased performance on some of the divergent thinking tasks (po0.05), and tended to increase EEG dimensional complexity during divergent thinking. Data indicate a differential sensitivity of modes of thinking to short-term treatment with estrogen and testosterone in postmenopausal women.

No changes in event-related potentials with estrogen or estrogen plus progesterone treatment in healthy older hysterectomized women: results from a double-blind, placebo-controlled study

“…Several recent studies observed rather rapid effect of estradiol on some aspects of cognitions, with the earliest changes being reported after 3 days of treatment (e.g. Duka et al 2000;Krug et al 2003). Since in the present study the first treatment effects were assessed after 4 weeks, the possibility that some temporary favourable effects had already disappeared again can not be ruled out.…”

“…Subjects in those studies were either symptomatic women, suffering from menopausal insomnia (Anderer et al 2003) or depression (Saletu et al 1995(Saletu et al , 2002 or younger women (mean age 58 years), when compared to subjects in the present study (Krug et al 2003). In addition, two observational studies reported that brainstem potentials were modified by gonadal hormones in asymptomatic postmenopausal women aged 47-55 years (Caruso et al 2000(Caruso et al , 2003.…”

“…Assessing the overall brain activity with EEG, positive effects on vigilance (increased alpha power) were reported in women with menopausal depression (age range 45-60 years) (Saletu et al 1995) and in menopausal syndrome patients with a mean age of 58 years (Saletu et al 2002). Most recently, Krug et al (2003) observed a reduced dimensional EEG complexity in postmenopausal women (mean age 58 years) in response to short term (3 days) transdermal estradiol treatment, which was accompanied by enhanced convergent and reduced divergent thinking capacity.…”

Increasing Testosterone Levels and Effects on Cognitive Functions in Elderly Men and Women: A Review

“…A cross-over study of only 3 days compared transdermal T vs. placebo (n=12) and transdermal E2 vs. placebo (n=12) in postmenopausal women reported that E2 impaired divergent thinking and improved convergent thinking, motor preservation and verbal memory. T's effect were opposite to that of E2 in that it improved performance on some divergent thinking tasks [90].…”

A computer program for testing and analyzing random generation behavior in normal and clinical samples: The Mittenecker Pointing Test

“…This was interpreted as a loss of control over perseveration, which corresponds to the more recent concepts of flexibility and inhibitory control (Miyake et al, 2000). A number of researchers have used the original (not yet computerized) MPT to study psychiatric and neurological disorders, such as schizophrenia (Axmacher, Bente, & Ferner, 1970;Mittenecker, 1953Mittenecker, , 1960Morrens, Hulstijn, Lewi, De Hert, & Sabbe, 2006;Morrens, Hulstijn, Lewi, & Sabbe, 2008;, Parkinson's disease (Stoffers et al, 2001;Stoffers et al, 2007), and epilepsy (Remschmidt, 1970(Remschmidt, , 1973Ruser, 1990), as well as individual differences and intraindividual variations in healthy samples (Krug, Mölle, Dodt, Fehm, & Born, 2003;Krug, Stamm, Pietrowsky, Fehm, & Born, 1994;Perras, Smolnik, Fehm, & Born, 2001;Schulter, 1987). Together, the findings confirmed that higher context redundancy was related to restricted cognitive flexibility.…”