Cognitive aging in women is closely related to age-related changes in neuroendocrine systems, particulariy the loss of circulating ovarian steroid hormones that occurs in menopause. Surprising findings from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study showed that hormone treatment (HT) begun long after the onset of menopause failed to improve cognition and may have been harmful. This contrasts with other studies indicating beneficial cognitive effects of HT begun soon after the onset of menopause. To reconcile these findings a 'window of opportunity'hypothesis has been proposed, such that there is a limited period of fime after menopause during which HT may improve cognifion. Because of other health risks associated with long-term HT including cardiovascular disease and cancer, current advice is for women to take a short course of HT at the onset of menopause and then disconfinue it. We will test, in a well-characterized animal model, whether beneficial cognitive effects of HT (on spatiotemporal working memory, visual recognition memory, and vulnerability to distraction) persist after discontinuation of HT, and whether they are sfill observed when HT is begun after a long delay post-menopause. In vivo neuroimaging analyses conducted concurrently with behavioral tesfing will measure neurobiological changes in parallel with cognitive ability. This study will test the 'window of opportunity'hypothesis explicitly, as well as whether cognitiye benefits can be maintained after withdrawal of HT. These studies will provide critical translational insights into how HT can improve cognitive outcomes of aging.

Public Health Relevance

Hormone replacement therapy in women after menopause can improve brain funcfion, including memory. We will test, in an animal model, how the fiming of hormone therapy after menopause affects its ability to improve brain function, both in terms of whether therapy must begin soon after menopause to be effective, and whether its beneficial effects persist after therapy is discontinued. These studies will help us maintain best brain and memory function in women as they age.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Research Program Projects (P01)
Project #
5P01AG016765-13
Application #
8433388
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAG1-ZIJ-9)
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2013-03-01
Budget End
2014-02-28
Support Year
13
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$532,440
Indirect Cost
$66,464
Name
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Department
Type
DUNS #
078861598
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10029
Baxter, Mark G; Santistevan, Anthony C; Bliss-Moreau, Eliza et al. (2018) Timing of cyclic estradiol treatment differentially affects cognition in aged female rhesus monkeys. Behav Neurosci 132:213-223
Crimins, Johanna L; Puri, Rishi; Calakos, Katina C et al. (2018) Synaptic distributions of pS214-tau in rhesus monkey prefrontal cortex are associated with spine density, but not with cognitive decline. J Comp Neurol :
Milham, Michael P; Ai, Lei; Koo, Bonhwang et al. (2018) An Open Resource for Non-human Primate Imaging. Neuron 100:61-74.e2
Motley, Sarah E; Grossman, Yael S; Janssen, William G M et al. (2018) Selective Loss of Thin Spines in Area 7a of the Primate Intraparietal Sulcus Predicts Age-Related Working Memory Impairment. J Neurosci 38:10467-10478
Bliss-Moreau, Eliza; Baxter, Mark G (2018) Estradiol treatment in a nonhuman primate model of menopause preserves affective reactivity. Behav Neurosci 132:224-229
Garcia, Alexandra N; Depena, Christina; Bezner, Kelsey et al. (2018) The timing and duration of estradiol treatment in a rat model of the perimenopause: Influences on social behavior and the neuromolecular phenotype. Horm Behav 97:75-84
Beckman, Danielle; Baxter, Mark G; Morrison, John H (2018) Future directions in animal models of Alzheimer's disease. J Neurosci Res 96:1829-1830
McEwen, Bruce S; Milner, Teresa A (2017) Understanding the broad influence of sex hormones and sex differences in the brain. J Neurosci Res 95:24-39
Nutsch, Victoria L; Bell, Margaret R; Will, Ryan G et al. (2017) Aging and estradiol effects on gene expression in the medial preoptic area, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and posterodorsal medial amygdala of male rats. Mol Cell Endocrinol 442:153-164
Garcia, Alexandra N; Bezner, Kelsey; Depena, Christina et al. (2017) The effects of long-term estradiol treatment on social behavior and gene expression in adult female rats. Horm Behav 87:145-154

Showing the most recent 10 out of 132 publications