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Increase in prefrontal cortex serotonin 2A receptors following estrogen treatment in postmenopausal women
Akira Kugaya1, C Neill Epperson, Sami Zoghbi
1Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Conn 06516, USA. akira@kugaya@yale.edu
Objective:
This study investigated the effect of estrogen on brain serotonin 2A (5-HT(2A)) receptors in postmenopausal women and whether there was any correlation of receptor changes with cognition and mood.
Method:
Ten postmenopausal subjects underwent positron emission tomography measurements of 5-HT(2A) receptor binding with [(18)F]deuteroaltanserin before and after estrogen replacement therapy.
Results:
5-HT(2A) receptor binding was significantly increased after estrogen replacement therapy in the right prefrontal cortex (right precentral gyrus [Brodmann's area 9], inferior frontal gyrus [Brodmann's area 47], medial frontal gyrus [Brodmann's area 6, 10] and the anterior cingulate cortex [Brodmann's area 32]). In the inferior frontal gyrus [Brodmann's area 44]), receptor up-regulation was correlated with change in plasma estradiol. Verbal fluency and Trail Making Test performance, but not mood, were significantly improved by estrogen without correlation with receptor changes.
Conclusions:
Estrogen increases 5-HT(2A) receptor binding in human prefrontal regions.
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