Estrogen, L:earning Strategy, and Neural Systems: Timing and Cell Mechanisms

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Estrogen has dramatic effects on cognition and associated brain regions. The PI has shown that, in rats, estrogen improves performance on navigational tasks requiring place or "go there" strategies and impairs performance on tasks using response or "turn this way" strategies. Importantly, the use of place and response strategies maps onto specific neural systems involved in cognition, namely the hippocampus and the dorsal striatum, respectively. Previous work in the PI's laboratory demonstrates that estrogen acts directly at the hippocampus and striatum to enhance place learning and impair response learning, respectively. The goals of the project are to determine the mechanisms underlying the opposing effects of estrogen on learning in rats. The experiments test whether the cognitive effects of estrogen at the hippocampus and striatum 1) are differentiated by slow and rapid actions of estrogen, 2) act through different estrogen receptors, molecules that bind estrogen and regulate its cellular and gene actions and 3) are mediated by CREB, an important memory molecule shown to be activated by estrogen. Results from these studies will advance our knowledge about reproductive hormone effects on brain function and memory systems. These activities will also have a direct impact on scientific education at many levels and in diverse groups of individuals. The PI mentors many graduate students including those from underrepresented groups, has a long history of incorporating undergraduate and high-school students in research, 6 of whom co-authored recent publications, and develops and implements hands-on science curricula for school children.