Effects of sex hormones on brain structure during female reproductive transition / 国际生物医学工程杂志

ABSTRACT

In this review paper, the influence of the changes of sex hormone levels in the reproductive transition period such as puberty, menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause on the brain structure was retrospectively analyzed. The results showed that the fluctuation of sex hormone level in different reproductive cycles caused the change of neuroplasticity, which have a macroscopic and microscopic impact on the brain, causing normal or pathological changes in the brain, and there was a significant correlation between the changes of brain volume and sex hormone levels. These results indicated that sex hormones played an important role in the plasticity of brain structure at different stages of female reproductive transition, and the periodic and progressive changes in sex hormone levels were also critical to the influence of mood, cognitive function and psychoneurosis throughout the female life cycle. Therefore, a full understanding of the changes of brain structural plasticity and pathology related to sex hormones is helpful to understand the neural mechanism of the influence of sex hormones on brain structure, and provide effective theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of diseases in different hormonal transition periods for women in the future.