Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
Nat Rev Neurosci. 2020 Oct;21(10):535-550. doi: 10.1038/s41583-020-0362-7. Epub 2020 Sep 2.
Although hormones such as glucocorticoids have been broadly accepted in recent decades as general neuromodulators of memory processes, sex steroid hormones such as the potent oestrogen 17β-oestradiol have been less well recognized by the scientific community in this capacity. The predominance of females in studies of oestradiol and memory and the general (but erroneous) perception that oestrogens are 'female' hormones have probably prevented oestradiol from being more widely considered as a key memory modulator in both sexes. Indeed, although considerable evidence supports a crucial role for oestradiol in regulating learning and memory in females, a growing body of literature indicates a similar role in males. This Review discusses the mechanisms of oestradiol signalling and provides an overview of the effects of oestradiol on spatial, object recognition, social and fear memories. Although the primary focus is on data collected in females, effects of oestradiol on memory in males will be discussed, as will sex differences in the molecular mechanisms that regulate oestrogenic modulation of memory, which may have important implications for the development of future cognitive therapeutics.
尽管几十年来，人们广泛接受了诸如糖皮质激素之类的激素是记忆过程的通用神经调节剂，但科学界对性激素，如强效雌激素 17β-雌二醇，在这方面的作用的认识却较少。女性在研究雌二醇和记忆方面占主导地位，以及普遍（但错误的）认为雌激素是“女性”激素的观念，可能阻止了雌二醇在两性中被更广泛地视为关键的记忆调节剂。事实上，尽管有大量证据支持雌激素在调节女性学习和记忆方面的关键作用，但越来越多的文献表明其在男性中也具有类似作用。这篇综述讨论了雌二醇信号转导的机制，并概述了雌二醇对空间、物体识别、社交和恐惧记忆的影响。尽管主要重点是收集女性的数据，但也将讨论雌二醇对男性记忆的影响，以及调节雌激素对记忆调节的分子机制中的性别差异，这可能对未来认知治疗学的发展具有重要意义。
