Neurology
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Correspondence:
Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Correspondence are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Sherwin, B. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Sherwin, B. B.
NEUROLOGY 1997;48:21S-26S
© 1997 American Academy of Neurology

Estrogen effects on cognition in menopausal women

Barbara B. Sherwin, PhD

From the Department of Psychology and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Supported by a grant from the Medical Research Council of Canada (no. MA-11623).
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Barbara B. Sherwin, McGill University, Department of Psychology, Stewart Biology Building, 1205 Dr. Penfield Ave., Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada.

Abstract.

Article abstract-There is now considerable evidence from basic neuroscience that estrogen influences aspects of brain chemistry and brain morphology known to be important for memory functions. Prospective, controlled studies of surgically and naturally menopausal women demonstrated that exogenous estrogen enhanced short- and long-term memory and the capacity for learning new associations, whereas visual memory was unaffected. Healthy, 65-year-old women who took estrogen also performed significantly better than estrogen-nonusers who were matched for age, socioeconomic status, and years of formal education. Finally, in 32-year-old women with uterine myomas, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) resulted both in ovarian suppression and in a decrease in verbal memory which was reversed by addition of estrogen to the GnRH-a treatment. Taken together, these findings suggest that estrogen helps to maintain verbal memory and enhances the capacity for new learning in women, whereas other cognitive functions such as verbal memory are seemingly unaffected by this steroid hormone.

NEUROLOGY 1997;48(Suppl 7): S21-S26






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1997 by AAN Enterprises, Inc.