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Estrogen therapy affects right hemisphere functioning in postmenopausal women.

Ulrike Bayer1, Markus Hausmann

  • 1Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, UK. ulrike.bayer@durham.ac.uk

Hormones and Behavior
|November 26, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Hormone therapy (HT) in postmenopausal women impacts brain function. Estrogen therapy specifically reduces right hemisphere advantages in visuo-spatial tasks, affecting cognitive abilities.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Endocrinology
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • Postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) may influence cognitive functions.
  • Cognitive abilities are associated with specific brain hemisphere functions (functional cerebral asymmetries - FCAs).
  • Estrogen's role in modulating brain function and cognitive performance is an area of ongoing research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of hormone therapy on functional cerebral asymmetries (FCAs) in postmenopausal women.
  • To determine if estrogen (E) or E-gestagen therapy differentially impacts verbal and visuo-spatial abilities.
  • To explore the relationship between hormone levels and brain functional organization.

Main Methods:

  • Study included 67 postmenopausal women: 14 on estrogen (E) alone, 22 on E-gestagen, and 31 controls.
  • Saliva samples analyzed for free estrogen (E) and progesterone (P) levels.
  • Functional cerebral asymmetries (FCAs) assessed using the visual half-field (VHF) technique with verbal and figural tasks.

Main Results:

  • Control group exhibited typical left hemisphere (LH) advantage for verbal tasks and right hemisphere (RH) advantage for visuo-spatial tasks.
  • Both hormone therapy groups showed significantly reduced FCAs in the figural comparison task.
  • Estrogen therapy was associated with a decrease in right hemisphere (RH) performance for visuo-spatial processing.

Conclusions:

  • Estrogen therapy in postmenopausal women can alter visuo-spatial abilities.
  • Hormone therapy appears to modulate functional brain organization, particularly right hemisphere (RH) functioning.
  • Findings suggest estrogen influences cognitive performance through its effects on brain lateralization.