@inbook{a8a87729a47d40a083e2c95805c69c40,
title = "Steroids, learning and memory",
abstract = "Steroid hormones initiate and coordinate a wide variety of functions vital to the survival and procreation of organisms. Gonadal steroids, such as estrogens, progestins, and androgens, maintain the structures and control the events necessary for successful reproduction. Adrenal steroids, such as corticosterone and cortisol, regulate daily physiological functions and sustain organisms through periods of stress. A common property of hormonal communication is the integration of activities supportive of a specific function by acting at target tissues throughout the body. Access of steroid hormones to almost every cell in the body via the circulation affords these chemical messengers the opportunity to influence a broad range of cellular functions. Evidence now exists that steroid hormones released by the gonads and adrenals contribute to the modulation of processes beyond their traditional roles in reproduction and stress. This chapter examines the hypothesis that steroid hormones influence the neural systems that allow organisms to learn and remember new information. Although a wealth of published findings supports this hypothesis, the effects of steroid hormones on learning and memory have proven to be complex, varying with task, sex, age, and steroid. However, as neuroscientists navigate the labyrinth of steroids and cognition, the therapeutic implications continue to tantalize the biomedical community. The potential of gonadal steroids to preserve cognitive functions challenged by age, disease, or trauma remains controversial but promising. Meanwhile, new treatments to mitigate the debilitating effects of overexposure to adrenal steroids offer hope in the management of various stress disorders. In this chapter, we review the course of contemporary research with special emphasis on the nonhuman models that are allowing neuroscientists to explore the phenomenon of steroid modulation of cognition and decipher the mechanisms underlying steroid action.",
keywords = "Alzheimer's disease, Amygdala, Corticosterone, Estradiol, Estrogen, Estrogen receptor, Eyeblink conditioning, Glucocorticoid, Hippocampus, Learning, Learning strategy, Memory, Memory systems, Progesterone, Stress, Striatum, β-Amyloid",
author = "G. Dohanich and D. Korol and T. Shors",
note = "Funding Information: Dr. Gary Dohanich is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Born in Pennsylvania, Dr. Dohanich received his BS in psychology from Lehigh University, his MS in physiological psychology from Villanova University, and his PhD in zoology from Michigan State University. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in the Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at Rockefeller University, he joined the Tulane faculty in 1985. His work focuses on the roles of estrogen, and more recently corticosterone, as moderators of cognitive, affective, and reproductive functions. Complementary interests include the impact of gender on the development and expression of behavior. He has held grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Dohanich is the co-founder and co-director of Tulane's major and masters programs in neuroscience. He is the recipient of several of the University's highest teaching awards, including the 2007 Suzanne and Stephen Weiss Presidential Fellowship for distinctive contributions to undergraduate education. Funding Information: Tracey J. Shors, PhD is a professor in the Department of Psychology and Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. Her research program is focused on processes of learning and memory. She studies the modification of learning after stressful experience, with an emphasis on sex differences in the stress response. She also studies adult neurogenesis and how learning rescues new neurons from death. Dr. Shors received her BS biology and psychology from University of Alabama, followed by a masters and doctorate in physiological psychology from the University of Southern California (USC). She continued her research at USC and Princeton University before joining the faculty of Rutgers University in 1998. With more than 100 publications, her laboratory is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and recently by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). Dr. Shors has served as a reviewer for NIMH and NSF, is on the editorial board of several journals including Journal of Neuroscience, and is the recent past president of the Pavlovian Society. She received the Pavlovian Investigator Award for meritorious achievement toward understanding factors in normal and abnormal behavior.",
year = "2009",
doi = "10.1016/B978-008088783-8.00015-2",
language = "English (US)",
isbn = "9780080887838",
pages = "539--578",
booktitle = "Hormones, Brain and Behavior Online",
publisher = "Elsevier",
address = "Netherlands",
}