Antonella   Gasbarri1*,  Assunta Pompili1, Benedetto  Arnone1,  Alessandra Cavicchio1,  Enrico Patrono1,  Mario

D’Amico1, Maria Clotilde Tavares2 and Carlos Tomaz2

ABSTRACT

The role  of estrogens  on  sexual behavior  in mammals  is very well known; moreover,  its effects on  other functions, including cognition,  have only recently been  recognized.  The present  review summarizes research conducted  in our laboratory and others with the aim of identifying the role of estrogen on cognitive functions. In the first section, we briefly describe the neurobiology of  estrogen;  in the second,  we discuss the effects of estrogens on cognitive behaviors in mammals,  as well as the physiological relevance of these effects and their applicability to human  health and disease.  The third section details the role of estrogens on working memory in humans and non human primates, and in rodents, and the concluding section briefly describes the relations between estrogens and the aging brain.

Keywords: estrogen, estrogen receptors, cognition, learning and memory, working memory.