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Anesthesiology
Sheryl Beck
Anxiogenic effects of chronic estrogen exposure in female mice
Gonadal hormones, such as estrogen, modulate mood in humans and animals and have been implicated in fluctuations of mood across the female reproductive cycle. In addition, the lifetime prevalence of depression in women is twice that of men. However, the majority of studies examining the biological mechanisms underlying stress/anxiety/depression have utilized animal models consisting solely of males. The proposed research examines the effect of chronic estrogen on stress/anxiety/depression in female mice. The effect of estrogen is mediated by at least two estrogen receptor subtypes: ER-a and ER-b. Expression of ER-a and ER-b varies by brain region and in response to the hormonal status of the animal. In general, these two receptor subtypes have opposing effects with ER-b activation decreasing behavioral indices of anxiety and ER-a activation increasing anxiety. Recent work in our lab has shown that chronic estrogen treatment increases anxiety as measured in the Open Field test whereas previous labs have shown that acute estrogen administration decreases anxiety in this behavioral test. This suggests that chronic estrogen exposure may preferentially activ