About this Research Topic
Sex hormones can have profound effects on the brain, not only influencing areas regulating developmental and reproductive processes but also impacting mood and cognitive function, including learning and memory processes. They play a key role in brain development and sexual differentiation and continue to have profound effects throughout the lifespan, influencing key physiological and psychological mechanisms underlying emotional learning and memory, in particular.
There is a wealth of literature on both animal and human studies investigating the link between sex hormones' influences on emotional learning and memory and the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. In female rats and women, low hormonal states during the estrous cycle and menstrual cycle, respectively, increase stress and fear responses. Similarly, low estrogen and testosterone levels are associated with an increased risk for depression and anxiety disorders. There is evidence for underlying mechanisms involving sex hormone modulation of neurotransmitter systems and increased structural and functional neuroplasticity. For instance, estrogen can enhance serotonergic neurotransmission, e.g. altering 5-HT1A expression, which has been implicated in mood disorders and targeted in antidepressant treatments. Additionally, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone have been shown to enhance spine density, synapse formation, and neurogenesis, particularly in areas involved in learning and memory such as the hippocampus. Therefore, investigating how sex hormones modulate emotional learning and memory processes has been critical to understanding the connections between sex hormones and psychopathology and identifying potential targets for improved treatment outcomes.
This Research Topic aims to collect studies that advance our understanding of emotional learning and memory mechanisms impacted by sex hormone fluctuations and mechanisms of action in physiology and pathology. This work moves us towards identifying targets for molecular interventions to promote the advancement of translational neuroscience research on the influence of sex hormones on emotional learning and memory processes.
We welcome research addressing, but not limited to, the following:
• Evidence underlying the effects of the estrous cycle periods on striatal areas involved in various aspects of learning and memory.
• Is there variability in dendritic spine density and plasticity during gonadal sex fluctuations?
• Results from in vitro and in vivo testing at specific time points throughout life and during physiological hormonal fluctuations (sex-specific investigations).
• Cellular and molecular mechanisms of emotional learning and memory influenced by sex hormone modulation.
• Estrous cycle, cognitive processes, and anxiety-related behaviors.
• Neurobiological bases highlighting the impact of hormonal fluctuations on mood, exacerbating pathological mood disorders – depression, anxiety, mood swings.
• Neural mechanisms underlying anxiety and fear behaviors and associated symptoms of neuropsychiatric disease.
• Anxiety and depression risks linked to hormone-dependent disorders/diseases such as PMDD, breast cancer, PCOS, etc.
• Short-term shifts and permanent rewiring due to unbalanced sex hormone fluctuations impacting brain circuitry.
• Current therapies based on hormone replacement– mechanisms of action, side effects, and potential therapeutic strategies looking at the hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenal, thyroid, and gonadal (HPATG) axis.
• Testosterone levels in major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD).
• Testosterone as a putative biomarker in mood disorders.
• Stress-related gut-brain axis mechanisms associated with emotional learning and memory.
• Target mechanisms and/or pathways utilized by novel therapies or technologies.
There is a wealth of literature on both animal and human studies investigating the link between sex hormones' influences on emotional learning and memory and the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. In female rats and women, low hormonal states during the estrous cycle and menstrual cycle, respectively, increase stress and fear responses. Similarly, low estrogen and testosterone levels are associated with an increased risk for depression and anxiety disorders. There is evidence for underlying mechanisms involving sex hormone modulation of neurotransmitter systems and increased structural and functional neuroplasticity. For instance, estrogen can enhance serotonergic neurotransmission, e.g. altering 5-HT1A expression, which has been implicated in mood disorders and targeted in antidepressant treatments. Additionally, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone have been shown to enhance spine density, synapse formation, and neurogenesis, particularly in areas involved in learning and memory such as the hippocampus. Therefore, investigating how sex hormones modulate emotional learning and memory processes has been critical to understanding the connections between sex hormones and psychopathology and identifying potential targets for improved treatment outcomes.
This Research Topic aims to collect studies that advance our understanding of emotional learning and memory mechanisms impacted by sex hormone fluctuations and mechanisms of action in physiology and pathology. This work moves us towards identifying targets for molecular interventions to promote the advancement of translational neuroscience research on the influence of sex hormones on emotional learning and memory processes.
We welcome research addressing, but not limited to, the following:
• Evidence underlying the effects of the estrous cycle periods on striatal areas involved in various aspects of learning and memory.
• Is there variability in dendritic spine density and plasticity during gonadal sex fluctuations?
• Results from in vitro and in vivo testing at specific time points throughout life and during physiological hormonal fluctuations (sex-specific investigations).
• Cellular and molecular mechanisms of emotional learning and memory influenced by sex hormone modulation.
• Estrous cycle, cognitive processes, and anxiety-related behaviors.
• Neurobiological bases highlighting the impact of hormonal fluctuations on mood, exacerbating pathological mood disorders – depression, anxiety, mood swings.
• Neural mechanisms underlying anxiety and fear behaviors and associated symptoms of neuropsychiatric disease.
• Anxiety and depression risks linked to hormone-dependent disorders/diseases such as PMDD, breast cancer, PCOS, etc.
• Short-term shifts and permanent rewiring due to unbalanced sex hormone fluctuations impacting brain circuitry.
• Current therapies based on hormone replacement– mechanisms of action, side effects, and potential therapeutic strategies looking at the hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenal, thyroid, and gonadal (HPATG) axis.
• Testosterone levels in major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD).
• Testosterone as a putative biomarker in mood disorders.
• Stress-related gut-brain axis mechanisms associated with emotional learning and memory.
• Target mechanisms and/or pathways utilized by novel therapies or technologies.
Keywords: learning, memory, sex hormones, hormonal fluctuation, PMDD, PCOS, brain circuitry, striatal area, cognitive functions, emotional learning, anxiety, depression, mood swings, dendritic spine dynamics, neuropsychiatric diseases
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
