Emotional and cognitive functional imaging of estrogen and progesterone effects in the female human brain: A systematic review

Toffoletto, Simone; Lanzenberger, Rupert; Gingnell, Malin; Sundström‐Poromaa, Inger; Comasco, Erika

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.07.025

Cited by 261 publications

(185 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…25,26 It is therefore possible that the girls with GD, in contrast to control girls, were not affected by the inhibiting effects of circulating estrogens on visuospatial cognitive functions. Nonetheless, in line with previous research, 23,24 our study suggests a masculinization of Table 3 for further details.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Significant effects of age and age × sex interactions in studies J Psychiatry Neurosci 2016;41 (6) on mental rotation performance during adolescence 20,21 have suggested that activational effects of sex hormones, starting at puberty, reinforce sex differences in visuospatial functioning. Furthermore, several studies 22,23 have indicated effects of gonadal hormone fluctuations in girls on visuospatial cognitive functioning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Male-typical visuospatial functioning in gynephilic girls with gender dysphoria — organizational and activational effects of testosterone

Burke

Kreukels

Cohen‐Kettenis

et al. 2016

jpn

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Male-typical visuospatial functioning in gynephilic girls with gender dysphoria — organizational and activational effects of testosterone

Burke

Kreukels

Cohen‐Kettenis

et al. 2016

jpn

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“…We hypothesized that a significant decline in ovarian hormone production would alter the neural response to monetary rewards in amygdala. Amygdala expresses high densities of sex-steroid receptors (Barth et al, 2015) showing sensitivity to normal variations in ovarian sex steroids (Toffoletto et al, 2014), and is critically involved in reward learning as well as processing positive and negative emotional reactions (Murray, 2007). We further explored whether the baseline to follow-up changes in neural response correlate with changes in the net levels of estradiol, testosterone, and depression scores following GnRHa intervention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex-Steroid Hormone Manipulation Reduces Brain Response to Reward

Macoveanu

Henningsson

Pinborg

et al. 2015

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Mood disorders are twice as frequent in women than in men. Risk mechanisms for major depression include adverse responses to acute changes in sex-steroid hormone levels, eg, postpartum in women. Such adverse responses may involve an altered processing of rewards. Here, we examine how women's vulnerability for mood disorders is linked to sex-steroid dynamics by investigating the effects of a pharmacologically induced fluctuation in ovarian sex steroids on the brain response to monetary rewards. In a double-blinded placebo controlled study, healthy women were randomized to receive either placebo or the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) goserelin, which causes a net decrease in sex-steroid levels. Fifty-eight women performed a gambling task while undergoing functional MRI at baseline, during the mid-follicular phase, and again following the intervention. The gambling task enabled us to map regional brain activity related to the magnitude of risk during choice and to monetary reward. The GnRHa intervention caused a net reduction in ovarian sex steroids (estradiol and testosterone) and increased depression symptoms. Compared with placebo, GnRHa reduced amygdala's reactivity to high monetary rewards. There was a positive association between the individual changes in testosterone and changes in bilateral insula response to monetary rewards. Our data provide evidence for the involvement of sex-steroid hormones in reward processing. A blunted amygdala response to rewarding stimuli following a rapid decline in sex-steroid hormones may reflect a reduced engagement in positive experiences. Abnormal reward processing may constitute a neurobiological mechanism by which sex-steroid fluctuations provoke mood disorders in susceptible women.

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“…A crucial site of action is the brain, where these hormones have strong modulatory effects on physiological regulation, cognitive function, mood, and behavior. They do so by changing cellular responsiveness to a variety of neurotransmitters and peptides, and by inducing morphological changes (2,3).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Genome-wide coexpression of steroid receptors in the mouse brain: Identifying signaling pathways and functionally coordinated regions

Mahfouz

Lelieveldt

Grefhorst

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Steroid receptors are pleiotropic transcription factors that coordinate adaptation to different physiological states. An important target organ is the brain, but even though their effects are well studied in specific regions, brain-wide steroid receptor targets and mediators remain largely unknown due to the complexity of the brain. Here, we tested the idea that novel aspects of steroid action can be identified through spatial correlation of steroid receptors with genome-wide mRNA expression across different regions in the mouse brain. First, we observed significant coexpression of six nuclear receptors (NRs) [androgen receptor (Ar), estrogen receptor alpha (Esr1), estrogen receptor beta (Esr2), glucocorticoid receptor (Gr), mineralocorticoid receptor (Mr), and progesterone receptor (Pgr)] with sets of steroid target genes that were identified in single brain regions. These coexpression relationships were also present in distinct other brain regions, suggestive of as yet unidentified coordinate regulation of brain regions by, for example, glucocorticoids and estrogens. Second, coexpression of a set of 62 known NR coregulators and the six steroid receptors in 12 nonoverlapping mouse brain regions revealed selective downstream pathways, such as Pak6 as a mediator for the effects of Ar and Gr on dopaminergic transmission. Third, Magel2 and Irs4 were identified and validated as strongly responsive targets to the estrogen diethylstilbestrol in the mouse hypothalamus. The brain-and genome-wide correlations of mRNA expression levels of six steroid receptors that we provide constitute a rich resource for further predictions and understanding of brain modulation by steroid hormones. neuroendocrinology | nuclear receptors | transcription regulation | estrogens | glucocorticoids S teroid receptors are part of the superfamily of nuclear receptors (NRs) that act as transcription factors regulating expression of numerous biologically important target genes (1). Their transcriptional activity is induced by steroid hormones, which respond to changed demands in terms of reproductive status, mineral balance, or stressful physical and psychological challenges. A crucial site of action is the brain, where these hormones have strong modulatory effects on physiological regulation, cognitive function, mood, and behavior. They do so by changing cellular responsiveness to a variety of neurotransmitters and peptides, and by inducing morphological changes (2, 3).Understanding the effects of steroid hormones on the brain faces the challenge to identify in as many as 900 different brain nuclei (4) both the highly cell-specific target genes that mediate the hormone effects (5, 6) and the signaling factors that mediate or influence steroid receptor signaling. The latter include proteins affecting prereceptor metabolism, interacting transcription factors (7), and downstream NR coregulator proteins (1). Even if the effects of steroid hormones are well-studied in specific regions (1, 8), overall, the brain steroid receptor targets and mediators ...

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Emotional and cognitive functional imaging of estrogen and progesterone effects in the female human brain: A systematic review

Cited by 261 publications

References 92 publications

Male-typical visuospatial functioning in gynephilic girls with gender dysphoria — organizational and activational effects of testosterone

Male-typical visuospatial functioning in gynephilic girls with gender dysphoria — organizational and activational effects of testosterone

Sex-Steroid Hormone Manipulation Reduces Brain Response to Reward

Genome-wide coexpression of steroid receptors in the mouse brain: Identifying signaling pathways and functionally coordinated regions

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