Effects of Sex Steroids in the Human Brain.
Sex steroids are thought to play a critical developmental role in shaping both cortical and subcortical structures in the human brain. Periods of profound changes in sex steroids invariably coincide with the onset of sex differences in mental health vulnerability, highlighting the importance of sex steroids in determining sexual differentiation of the brain. Yet, most of the evidence for the central effects of sex steroids relies on non-human studies, as several challenges have limited our understanding of these effects in humans: the lack of systematic assessment of the human sex steroid metabolome, the different developmental trajectories of specific sex steroids, the impact of genetic variation and epigenetic changes, and the plethora of interactions between sex steroids, sex chromosomes, neurotransmitters, and other hormonal systems. Here we review how multimodal strategies may be employed to bridge the gap between the basic and clinical understanding of sex steroid-related changes in the human brain.
Department of Psychiatry, McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1A1, Canada.|Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology, McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1A1, Canada.
Tuong-Vi
TV
Nguyen
Department of Psychiatry, McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1A1, Canada.|McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada.
Simon
S
Ducharme
McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada. sherifkarama@gmail.com.|Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, 6875 Boulevard LaSalle, Montreal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada. sherifkarama@gmail.com.
Sherif
S
Karama
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D012727:Sex Characteristics
D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones
Brain organization; Brain structure; Hormones; Neuroendocrinology; Sex differences