ssImpact of Adrenal Hormones, Reproductive Aging, and Major Depression on Memory Circuitry Decline in Early Midlife.

ssImpact of Adrenal Hormones, Reproductive Aging, and Major Depression on Memory Circuitry Decline in Early Midlife. Brain Res. 2019 Jul 04;:146303 Authors: Konishi K, Cherkerzian S, Jacobs EG, Richards C, Remington A, Aizley H, Misra M, Lasley BL, Goldstein JM Abstract Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS) is an adrenal androgen that is, in part, aromatized to estradiol. It continues to be produced after menopause and provides estrogenicity after depletion of ovarian hormones. Estradiol depletion contributes to memory circuitry changes over menopause, including changes in hippocampal (HIPP) and dorsolateral- and ventrolateral-prefrontal cortex (DLPFC; VLPFC) function. Further, major depressive disorder (MDD) patients have, in general, lower levels of estradiol and lower DHEAS than healthy controls, thus potentially a higher risk of adverse menopausal outcomes. We investigated whether higher DHEAS levels after menopause is associated with better memory circuitry function, especially in women with MDD. 212 adults (ages 45-55, 50% women) underwent clinical and fMRI testing. Participants performed a working memory (WM) N-back task and an episodic memory verbal encoding (VE) task during fMRI scanning. DHEAS levels were significantly associated with memory circuitry function, specifically in MDD postmenopausal women. On the WM task, lower DHEAS levels were associated with increased HIPP activity. On the VE task, lower DHEAS levels were a...
Source: Brain Research - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Brain Res Source Type: research