Effects of sex steroid hormones on memory

Abstract

Many evidences have elucidated relevant mechanisms of action of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone on cognition, including learning and memory processes, both in animal models and humans. This influence may depend on their modulator role on several neurotransmitter systems, and the extensive presence of their receptors in cerebral areas, involved in cognitive functions, including the amygdala, hippocampal formation, and cerebral cortex. The present brief review summarizes data of our research and others with the aim of clarifying, in mammals, the involvement of sex hormones on memory. In particular, after an introduction illustrating the general mechanisms of sex hormones modulation on memory processes, the specific role of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone in memory is described in three different sections. Besides summarizing the most relevant actions of sex steroid hormones in the modulation of learning and memory, in this review is also emphasized that many aspects and mechanisms are still not completely understood and extensive future research is necessary to elucidate them.

Influence of Dietary Nutrient Intake on Episodic Memory Across the Adult Life Span

“…The present data demonstrate that cholesterol from the diet benefits recollection; however, its effects may be indirect. One reason could be the function of cholesterol as a precursor of steroid hormones involved in memory, such as testosterone and estradiol ( Pompili et al, 2020 ). A meta-analysis that included 143 studies concluded that moderate alcohol intake does not increase the risk of dementia or cognitive decline ( Neafsey and Collins, 2011 ).…”

Task-specific effects of biological sex and sex hormones on object recognition memories in a 6-hydroxydopamine-lesion model of Parkinson's disease in adult male and female rats

“…Moreover, the NOP and OiP tasks require habituation but no formal pre-training; rely on spontaneous rather than motivated behaviors; require minimal physical exertion; and produce minimal stress in the animal subjects [66,67,69]. Thus, these tasks operationally mitigate the well-known, potentially confounding impacts of biological sex, sex hormones and/or dopamine systems on rodents' learning styles and speeds, sensitivity to reward, motor function and responses to stress [87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97]. Single trial object recognition-based tasks are also of proven utility and longstanding use in studying the effects of sex and sex hormone on higher order information processing [66].…”

Testosteron Hormonunun Duygusal, Bilişsel ve Davranışsal Etkileri

“…Hem hayvan modellerinde hem de insanlarda, öğrenme ve hafıza süreçleri de dahil olmak üzere testosteronun biliş üzerindeki etkisi mevcuttur. Bu etki, çeşitli nörotransmitter sistemleri üzerindeki modülatör rollerine ve amigdala, hipokampal oluşum ve serebral korteks dahil olmak üzere bilişsel işlevlerde yer alan beyin alanlarındaki reseptörlerinin yaygın varlığına bağlı olabileceği ileri sürülmektedir 17 .…”