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Neuroendocrinology of Memory and Cognitive Function

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Handbook of Neurochemistry and Molecular Neurobiology

Abstract:

Cognitive function – the ability to learn, retain, and recall information – changes over the lifespan and shows some sexual dimorphism. These patterns of cognitive ability appear to depend, in part, on the changing/different mileu of circulating steroid hormones. This review examines the extent to which steroid hormones, gonadal, and adrenal, influence cognitive function. First, emerging studies indicate that estrogens (directly secreted or derived from androgens) and glucocorticoids (cortisol in humans and corticosterone in most rodents) exert programming effects on cognition during the perinatal period which are subsequently expressed at adulthood. At adulthood, hormones also promote or impair cognition, depending on the specific hormone, the sex of the subject, and the situation/function examined. Finally, steroids appear to be important contributors to age-related losses in memory function. Hormonal actions on cognition, like their well-described effects on homeostatic function, rely on specific genomic activations of neurons via morphological and neurochemical mechanisms in brain areas underlying memory function. Newer evidence also suggests that estrogens rapidly activate signal transduction pathways via membrane receptors to enhance memory. Using classic, posttraining paradigms for assessing learning and memory, these rapid effects of estrogen on neural function have been shown to reflect enhancements in the consolidation of memory. While it is clear that hormonal effects on cognition are not generally large, this review posits that hormonal influences are nonetheless pervasive throughout the lifespan and provide fundamental, important regulation over higher order neural function, i.e., the intellectual/cognitive realms of life.

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Abbreviations

BDNF:

Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor

CEE:

Conjugated equine estrogens

CNS:

Central Nervous System

CREB:

cAMP Response Element-binding protein

DES:

Diethystilbestrol

EB:

Estradiol Benzoate

ERα:

Estrogen receptor α

ERβ:

Estrogen receptor β

HPA:

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (Axis)

HPG:

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal (Axis)

IGF2:

Insulin-like Growth Factor 2

MAP Kinase:

Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase

MPA:

Medroxyprogesterone

NGF:

Nerve Growth Factor

Ovx:

Ovariectomized

PS:

Prenatal Stress

RAM:

Radial arm maze

SC:

Subcutaneous

SERM:

Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator

SGRM:

Selective Glucocorticoid Receptor Modulator

SRM:

Selective Receptor Modulator

Sts:

Stress

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Acknowledgments

Research in the author's laboratory is supported by NIH grants RISE, GM60665; SCORE, GM60654; MIDARP, DA12136, and RCMI, RR03037. Advice and discussions with Gary Dohanich in the preparation of this manuscript is greatly appreciated. Dedicated work by former and current students Kevin Beck, Rachel Bowman, Deveroux Ferguson, Luis Jacome, Govini Mohan, Marisa Gordon, and Shannon Richards are gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. V. N. Luine
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Neurochemistry, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, 140 Old Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg, New York, 10962, USA

    Abel Lajtha (Director) (Director)

  2. Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, University of Massachusetts, 135 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA, 01003-9271, USA

    Jeffrey D. Blaustein

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Luine, V.N. (2007). Neuroendocrinology of Memory and Cognitive Function. In: Lajtha, A., Blaustein, J.D. (eds) Handbook of Neurochemistry and Molecular Neurobiology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30405-2_21

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