HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY EFFECTS ON MEMORY

越来越多的美国妇女正在寻求雌激素替代品 绝经后激素替代疗法（ERT）。 除了身体上的好处，例如， 降低骨质疏松症、心脏病和结肠癌的风险， 研究表明，ERT在缓解年龄相关性 记忆力减退和降低患阿尔茨海默病的风险。 机制 这些认知上的好处还不清楚。 本研究将 检查ERT对行为和电生理的影响， 记忆功能指标。 特别是健康的绝经后妇女 从一个有代表性的社区样本中抽取，这些样本经历了长期的- 长期ERT和年龄匹配的对照组，从未使用ERT， 与年轻的绝经前妇女相比， 和近因记忆 除了更好地描述 ERT的行为影响，我们有兴趣研究潜在的 雌激素调节记忆功能的神经机制。 与 结束时，将记录事件相关脑电位（ERP）， 实验任务，初步试图阐明 ERT相关记忆增强的电生理指标。总的来说， 这项工作将作为（1）受试者招募的可行性研究， (2)估计效应量的基础，（3）更好地阐明 与ERT相关的记忆增强类型，以及（4）初始 与记忆效应相关的脑行为关联检查 在使用ERT的绝经后妇女中报告。

An increasing number of American women are seeking estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) after menopause. In addition to physical benefits, e.g.g, decreased risk of osteoporosis, heart disease,and colon cancer, several studies have suggested an efficacy of ERT in tempering age-related memory loss and reducing the risk of Alzheimer's Disease. The mechanism of these cognitive benefits remains unclear. The current study will examine the effects of ERT on behavioral and electrophysiological indices of memory function. Specifically, healthy post menopausal women drawn from a representative community sample who have undergone long- term ERT and age-matched controls, who have never used ERT, will be compared to younger premenopausal women on tests of recall, recognition, and recency memory. Beyond providing a better description of the behavioral effects of ERT, we are interested in examining potential neural mechanisms by which estrogens modulate memory function. To that end, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) will be recorded during the experimental tasks in an initial attempt to elucidate the electrophysiological indices of ERT-related memory enhancement. Overall, this work will serve as (1) a feasibility study for subject recruitment, (2) a basis for estimating effect sizes, (3) a means to better elucidate the type of memory enhancement associated with ERT, and (4) an initial examination of brain-behavior associations related to the memory effects reported in ERT-using postmenopausal women.