Rapid effects of estrogens on behavior: Environmental modulation and molecular mechanisms

Abstract

Estradiol can modulate neural activity and behavior via both genomic and nongenomic mechanisms. Environmental cues have a major impact on the relative importance of these signaling pathways with significant consequences for behavior. First we consider how photoperiod modulates nongenomic estrogen signaling on behavior. Intriguingly, short days permit rapid effects of estrogens on aggression in both rodents and song sparrows. This highlights the importance of considering photoperiod as a variable in laboratory research. Next we review evidence for rapid effects of estradiol on ecologically-relevant behaviors including aggression, copulation, communication, and learning. We also address the impact of endocrine disruptors on estrogen signaling, such as those found in corncob bedding used in rodent research. Finally, we examine the biochemical mechanisms that may mediate rapid estrogen action on behavior in males and females. A common theme across these topics is that the effects of estrogens on social behaviors vary across different environmental conditions.

Sex differences and rapid estrogen signaling: A look at songbird audition

“…Rapid estradiol signaling has also been reported to affect behaviors that differ greatly between males and females such as aggression, copulation, and learning (as reviewed by Laredo et al , 2014). While there has been extensive study of how these behaviors differ between males and females (Adkins-Regan & Leung, 2006, McCarthy et al , 2012, Rhen & Crews, 2000, Riebel et al , 2002), and while these behaviors have been linked to rapid estradiol signaling, few studies address how rapid estradiol signaling mechanisms might differ between males and females to mediate or modulate these behaviors.…”

“…The same group also showed that this sex difference is due to aromatization of testosterone into estradiol early in development and masculinized females resembled males in pCREB induction from estradiol (Meitzen et al , 2012; also discussed in 2.2). Szego et al (2006) found female pCREB was sensitive to estradiol treatment but Grove-Strawser et al (2010) did not find these effects in males, suggesting that a sex difference emerges early on for the response of pCREB to estradiol (Meitzen et al , 2012, reviewed by Laredo et al , 2014). …”

Frank Beach Award Winner: Steroids as neuromodulators of brain circuits and behavior

“…Nonclassical steroid actions are typically considered too fast to be accounted for by altered gene transcription/protein translation, since they can occur within seconds to minutes of elevated local steroid concentration. Steroids can therefore influence neuronal membrane excitability and cell signaling cascades via ‘nonclassical’ mechanisms (Laredo et al, 2014; Vasudevan and Pfaff, 2008; Woolley, 2007). The parallels here with neuromodulation are clear.…”

Estrogen and Extinction of Fear Memories:Implications for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment

“…Women are also more likely to experience chronic PTSD that persists for more than a year (4, 5, 7) and carry a greater burden of this illness on the healthcare infrastructure (1). While there is much debate about what factors contribute to these disparities –from sociocultural and environmental influences (8) to sexual dimorphisms in physiology – there is, surprisingly, very little known about the biological mechanisms that underlie sex differences in PTSD. The overreliance of male subjects in preclinical animal models and in clinical research has, thus far, limited our progress in understanding the nature of psychiatric illnesses that disproportionately affect women.…”