In mice tonic estrogen replacement therapy improves non-spatial and spatial memory in a water maze task

Rissanen, Anna; Puoliväli, Jukka; Groen, Thomas van; Riekkinen, Paavo

doi:10.1097/00001756-199904260-00039

Cited by 65 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…More recent in vitro studies have demonstrated that the estradiolinduced increase in spine density increases the sensitivity of the cells to N-methyl-Daspartate receptor-mediated synaptic input (28). There are a number of studies suggesting that learning ability varies over the course of the estrous cycle in female rats (29)(30)(31)(32)(33), although several other studies have not found any changes (34,35). In addition, estrogen replacement therapy appears to preserve memory function in post-menopausal women (36,37), as well as in ovariectomized female rats (38).…”

Section: Role Of Hormones In Brain Development and Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in animals.

Schantz

Widholm

2001

Environ Health Perspect

221

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A large number of chemical pollutants including phthalates, alkylphenolic compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, organochlorine pesticides, bisphenol A, and metals including lead, mercury, and cadmium have the ability to disrupt endocrine function in animals. Some of these same chemicals have been shown to alter cognitive function in animals and humans. Because hormonally mediated events play a central role in central nervous system development and function, a number of researchers have speculated that the changes in cognitive function are mediated by the endocrine-like actions of these chemicals. In this paper we review the evidence that cognitive effects of chemicals classified as environmental endocrine disruptors are mediated by changes in hormonal function. We begin by briefly reviewing the role of gonadal steroids, thyroid hormones, and glucocorticoids in brain development and brain function. We then review the endocrine changes and cognitive effects that have been reported for selected endocrine-disrupting chemicals, discuss the evidence for causal relationships between endocrine disruption and cognitive effects, and suggest directions for future research.

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Section: Role Of Hormones In Brain Development and Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in animals.

Schantz

Widholm

2001

Environ Health Perspect

221

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“…Chronic oestrogen treatment of ovariectomized rats appears to enhance spatial memory in rats (e.g. Luine et al 1998;Rissanen et al 1999) but is is not clear from these data whether or not there are also short-term e¡ects of oestrogen levels on spatial memory. Frye (1995) found some evidence for £uc-tuations in female performance with oestrous cycle and Warren & Juraska (1997), who tested females at a single point in their oestrous cycle, showed that females in oestrus performed signi¢cantly better than females in pro-oestrus in a Morris water maze task.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Spatial working memory in rats: no differences between the sexes

Healy

Braham

Braithwaite

1999

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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In a number of mammalian species, males appear to have superior spatial abilities to females. The favoured explanations for this cognitive di¡erence are hormonal, with higher testosterone levels in males than females leading to better spatial performance, and evolutionary, where sexual selection has favoured males with increased spatial abilities for either better navigational skills in hunting or to enable an increased territory size. However, an alternative explanation for this sex di¡erence focuses on the role of varying levels of oestrogen in females in spatial cognition (the`fertility and parental care' hypothesis). One possibility is that varying oestrogen levels result in variation in spatial learning and memory so that, when tested across the oestrous cycle, females perform as well as males on days of low oestrogen but more poorly on days of high oestrogen. If day in the oestrous cycle is not taken into account then, across an experiment, any sex di¡erences found would always produce male superiority. We used a spatial working memory task in a Morris water maze to test the spatial learning and memory abilities of male and female rats. The rats were tested across a number of consecutive days during which the females went through four oestrous cycles. We found no overall sex di¡erences in latencies to reach a submerged platform in a Morris water maze but, on the day of oestrus (low oestrogen), females took an extra swim to learn the platform's location (a 100% increase over the other days in the cycle). Female swim speed also varied across the oestrous cycle but females were no less active on the day of oestrus. These results oppose the predictions of the fertility and parental care hypothesis.

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“…Estrogen is thought to be beneficial for memory because it enhances the structure and function of mnemonic brain regions such as the hippocampus that deteriorate in normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (Foy, Xu, Xie, Brinton, Thompson & Berger, 1999;Warren, Humphreys, Juraska & Greenough, 1995;Woolley & McEwen, 1992, and because hippocampal-dependent memory (e.g., spatial memory, object recognition) is typically improved by exogenous estrogen administration in young ovariectomized female rats (Bimonte & Denenberg, 1999;Daniel, Fader, Spencer & Dohanich, 1997;Gibbs, 1999;O'Neal, Means, Poole & Hamm, 1996;Sandstrom & Williams, 2001) and mice (Gresack & Frick, 2004, 2006bHeikkinen, Puoliväli, Liu, Rissanen & Tanila, 2002;Rissanen, Puoliväli, van Groen & Riekkinen, 1999). Estrogen is also a trophic factor for the adult hippocampus (Brinton, 2001), and therefore, estrogen deficiency during aging may render the hippocampus more vulnerable to deterioration and exacerbate emerging age-related memory deficits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life-long environmental enrichment differentially affects the mnemonic response to estrogen in young, middle-aged, and aged female mice

Gresack

Kerr

Frick

2007

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

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The present study was designed to examine whether life-long exposure to standard or enriched housing affects the ability of estrogen to improve spatial and object memory throughout the lifespan. Three week-old female mice were maintained in standard or enriched housing up to and through ovariectomy and behavioral testing at 5, 17, or 22 months of age. Spatial memory was tested in the Morris water maze and object memory was tested using an object recognition task. Immediately after training each day, mice were injected intraperitoneally with vehicle or 0.2 mg/kg 17β-estradiol. Among young females, object recognition was enhanced by estradiol alone, an effect that was reduced by enrichment. In contrast, spatial water maze performance was impaired by estradiol alone, but improved by the combination of both estradiol and enrichment. At middle-age, object recognition was enhanced by estradiol or enrichment alone, and the combination of both treatments. Spatial memory in the water maze was also improved by both treatments at middle-age, but the beneficial effects of estradiol were limited to standard-housed females. Finally, whereas enrichment in aged females significantly enhanced performance in both tasks, estradiol had no effect at this age in either task. In total, the data indicate that life-long enrichment can significantly alter the extent to which estradiol affects memory in mice throughout the lifespan. Importantly, the interaction between these treatments is highly dependent on age and type of memory tested.

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In mice tonic estrogen replacement therapy improves non-spatial and spatial memory in a water maze task

Cited by 65 publications

References 11 publications

Cognitive effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in animals.

Cognitive effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in animals.

Spatial working memory in rats: no differences between the sexes

Life-long environmental enrichment differentially affects the mnemonic response to estrogen in young, middle-aged, and aged female mice

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