Clarifying the Mechanisms Underlying Estradiol's Effect on Human Behaviour

17 β-雌二醇（E2）是一种类固醇激素，是一种有效的雌激素，在女性性发育和功能中起着重要作用。除了存在于几乎每个身体系统，包括生殖系统，心血管系统和骨骼系统之外，雌激素受体还存在于女性大脑中，包括在调节对情绪刺激的反应中起关键作用的边缘结构。因此，E2的潜在心理影响长期以来一直受到关注，但仍然缺乏特征。此外，E2影响女性行为的机制仍不清楚。这种缺乏明确性可能与越来越多的文献有关，这些文献表明E2的影响可能会因个体而异;如果不考虑这种个体差异，将极大地限制识别其影响机制的能力。最近的研究，包括我自己的工作，也表明E2波动的行为影响可能比E2水平本身更重要，这也可能有助于解释E2影响仍然缺乏明确性。 拟议的研究计划旨在澄清E2影响情绪和一般影响的神经内分泌和感知，认知和行为机制，解决现有研究的这些和其他局限性。待探索的候选机制包括E2对GABA能神经类固醇、应激反应、情绪识别和情绪记忆的影响。这项研究计划的长期目标是确定对E2敏感性个体差异的潜在遗传贡献。

17ß-estradiol (E2) is steroid hormone and a potent estrogen that plays an important role in female sexual development and functioning. In addition to being present in nearly every bodily system, including the reproductive, cardiovascular, and skeletal systems, estrogen receptors populate the female brain, including the limbic structures that play a critical role in regulating responses to emotional stimuli. The potential psychological effects of E2 have therefore long been of interest but remain poorly characterised. Furthermore, the mechanisms by which E2 affects behaviour in women remain unclear. This lack of clarity may relate to a mounting body of literature suggesting that the effects of E2 are likely to vary enormously from one individual to another; failure to take this individual variability into account will greatly limit the ability to identify the mechanisms underlying its effects. Recent research, including my own work, also suggests that the behavioural effects of E2 fluctuation may be even more important than E2 levels per se, which may also help explain the remaining lack of clarity surrounding E2's effects. The proposed program of research aims to clarify the neuroendocrine and perceptual, cognitive, and behavioural mechanisms by which E2 influences emotion and general affect by addressing these and other limitations of the existing research. Candidate mechanisms to be explored include E2 effects on GABAergic neurosteroids, stress reactivity, emotion recognition, and emotional memory. The long-term objective of this research program is to identify potential genetic contributions to individual differences in sensitivity to E2.