Hormones and cognitive functioning during late pregnancy and postpartum: A longitudinal study.

Abstract

This longitudinal study investigated the possible influence of estradiol (E 2 ), progesterone (P), testosterone (T), cortisol (CORT), and prolactin (PRL) levels on cognitive functioning during late pregnancy and the early postpartum period. The performance of 55 pregnant women on a battery of neuropsychological tests, tested once during the third trimester of pregnancy and once during the early postpartum period, was compared with that of 21 nonpregnant controls matched for age and education. Women in the pregnancy group had significantly lower scores than the controls during both the pre-and postpartum visits on tasks of verbal recall and processing speed. CORT levels were significantly associated, in an inverted-U function, with verbal recall scores at both the pregnancy and at postpartum periods and with spatial abilities at postpartum only. During pregnancy, PRL levels were associated in both a linear and an inverted-U function with scores on tests of paragraph recall and in a linear function with scores on tests of executive function. At postpartum, E 2 and CORT were negatively associated in a linear fashion with attention scores. These findings provide new evidence that fluctuating hormone levels during late pregnancy and early postpartum may modulate selected cognitive abilities. Keywords pregnancy; postpartum; cognition; steroid hormones; prolactin During pregnancy and the postpartum periods, a considerable number of women experience some degree of cognitive change that has come to be colloquially called "pregnancy brain." The symptoms most frequently reported by women during these repro ductive periods are forgetfulness and memory disturbances , poor concentration, increased absentmindedness, and difficulty reading (Parsons & Redman, 1991;Poser, Kassirer, & Peyser, 1986).The pregnancy and postpartum periods are characterized by the most drastic hormonal fluctuations women experience during their reproductive lives. During pregnancy, levels of some steroid hormones such as estradiol (E 2 ) and progesterone (P) increase by up to 30-and 70-fold, respectively, in comparison to nonpregnant levels (Tulchinsky, Hobel, Yeager, & Marshall, 1972 CIHR Author Manuscript CIHR Author Manuscript CIHR Author Manuscript80% of placental steroids in the maternal circulation (Bonnar, Franklin, Nott, & McNeilly, 1975;West & McNeilly, 1979). Key steroid hormones affected in this manner are E 2 , P, and cortisol (CORT; Bonnar et al., 1975;Willcox, Yovich, McColm, & Phillips, 1985). Other hormones which fluctuate during these periods are testosterone (T) and prolactin (PRL;Bonnar et al., 1975;Pearlman, Crépy, & Murphy, 1967).Under nonstressful conditions, CORT levels follow a circadian rhythm characterized by highest levels in the morning after awakening followed by a steady decline throughout the day; lowest levels around midnight and a rise again in the early morning hours (Edwards, Evans, Hucklebridge, & Clow, 2001;Weitzman et al., 1971). A distinct feature of the CORT circadian cycle is a marked increase in secret...

The role of sex and sex-related hormones in cognition, mood and well-being in older men and women

“…Still, in human studies, to our knowledge, there is only one report that examines the association between PRL and cognitive functioning. Henry and Sherwin (2012) report that higher PRL levels had a detrimental effect in executive functioning, as we also observe here. In accordance, in animal studies, reduced PRL levels in mice seem to compromise learning and memory behaviors that require input from the hippocampus (Walker et al, 2012), and in male rats hyperprolactinemia impairs object recognition (Torner, Tinajero, Lajud, Quintanar-Stephano, & Olvera-Cortes (2013)).…”

Estrogen and cognitive functioning in women: Lessons we have learned.

“…Impairments in verbal free recall, in working memory (Henry & Rendell, 2007;Janes, Casey, Huntsdale, & Angus, 1999), in word fluency, and in word list learning (de Groot, Hornstra, Roozendaal, & Jolles, 2003) in performance on priming tasks and incidental learning tasks (Sharp, Brindle, Brown, & Turner, 1993) occur in pregnant women, as compared with nonpregnant controls. During the third trimester and the early postpartum period, women performed more poorly on a task of verbal recall as compared with nonpregnant controls (Glynn, 2010) and, in a longitudinal study, pregnant women performed worse than nonpregnant controls on two tests of verbal memory, on a visuospatial task, and on a task of processing speed (Henry & Sherwin, 2011). These findings support the view that changes in sex hormone production within the physiological range that occur during reproductive events modify performance on a variety of cognitive functions.…”

Stress at the place of work and cognitive functions among women performing intellectual work during peri- and post-menopausal period

“…In turn, estrogens exert a beneficial effect on cognitive functions, especially in the area of verbal memory and capability to assimilate new concepts [22]. Contemporary literature provides evidence for relationships between the level of prolactin, glucocorticoids and oxytocin on, among others, the intensity of neurogenesis [23], or relationships between the level of prolactin and the results of memory tests or tests concerning cognitive function [24]. Thirdly, the level of prolactin increases as a result of the stress response of the body.…”