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Neuroactive Steroids in Brain Function, Behavior and Neuropsychiatric Disorders pp 123–141Cite as

Estrogen, Cholinergic System and Cognition

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Disparities in the epidemiology of mental disorders in males and females provide indirect evidence for hormonal and other factors in disease etiology and course. For example, as hormonal levels fluctuate with the start of the menopause, women begin to experience menstrual cycle changes accompanied by a variety of distressing symptoms such as hot flashes, sleep problems, mood swings, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, disorientation, and memory lapses. These clinical signs suggest that hormonal changes impact both reproductive and non-reproductive areas of the brain. This chapter focuses on the effects of estrogen on the basal forebrain cholinergic system. Considerable evidence indicates a close correlation between the integrity of the basal forebrain cholinergic system and cognitive and attentional behaviors, with estrogen playing a significant role since it produces an upregulation of cholinergic function, as well as neurite outgrowth and branching. Structural changes have been postulated as integral steps in cellular processes leading to information storage in the nervous system, and perhaps estrogen-induced neurite sprouting within cholinergic neurons could underlie the behavioral effects of estrogen treatment. Findings from our work and that of many others suggest that the specific influences of estrogen on the structure and function of the cholinergic system could explain its ability to maintain certain aspects of memory. These findings may shed light on why women are more susceptible to dementia after the menopause, and thus have important consequences for the quality of life of aging women.

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  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Sonsoles de Lacalle M.D., Ph.D & Bryan Hyler

  2. Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Pitzer College, Claremont, CA, USA

    Thomas Borowski Ph.D

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  1. Sonsoles de Lacalle M.D., Ph.D
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  2. Bryan Hyler
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  3. Thomas Borowski Ph.D
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sha'ar Menashe Mental Health Center, Hadera, Israel

    Michael S. Ritsner M.D., Ph.D

  2. Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel

    Abraham Weizman MD

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© 2008 Springer Science + Business Media, B.V

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de Lacalle, S., Hyler, B., Borowski, T. (2008). Estrogen, Cholinergic System and Cognition. In: Ritsner, M.S., Weizman, A. (eds) Neuroactive Steroids in Brain Function, Behavior and Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6854-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6854-6_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-6853-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-6854-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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