title: Estrogen- and progesterone-mediated structural neuroplasticity in women: evidence from neuroimaging.
abstract: There is substantial evidence that the ovarian sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone, which vary considerably over the course of the human female lifetime, contribute to changes in brain structure and function. This structured, quantitative literature reviews aims to summarize neuroimaging literature addressing physiological variation in brain macro- and microstructure across an array of hormonal transitions including the menstrual cycle, use of hormonal contraceptives, pregnancy, and menopause. Twenty-five studies reporting structural neuroimaging of women, addressing variation across hormonal states, were identified from a structured search of PUBMED and were systematically reviewed. Although the studies are heterogenous with regard to methodology, overall the results point to overlapping areas of hormone related effects on brain structure particularly affecting the structures of the limbic system. These findings are in keeping with functional data that point to a role for estrogen and progesterone in mediating emotional processing.
authors.affiliation: The Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Catenaccio
authors.affiliation: The Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA.
authors.forename: Weiya
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.affiliation: The Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA. michael.lipton@einstein.yu.edu.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. michael.lipton@einstein.yu.edu.|Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. michael.lipton@einstein.yu.edu.|Department of Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. michael.lipton@einstein.yu.edu.|Department of Radiology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA. michael.lipton@einstein.yu.edu.
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Lipton
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D059906:Neuroimaging; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D011374:Progesterone / Q000502:physiology*; D046468:Sexual Development
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D011374:Progesterone
keywords: Estrogen; Hormones; Menstrual cycle; Neuroendocrinology; Neuroimaging; Neuroplasticity; Progesterone; Sex differences; Voxel-based morphometry; Women