Abstract
The brain is a target of steroid hormone actions that affect brain architecture, molecular and neurochemical processes, behavior and neuroprotection via both genomic and non-genomic actions. Estrogens have such effects throughout the brain and this article provides an historical and current view of how this new view has come about and how it has affected the study of sex differences, as well as other areas of neuroscience, including the effects of stress on the brain.
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Conflict of interest The author reports no conflict of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this paper.
Source of funding Research in the author’s laboratory reported in this review is supported in part by research grants from the NIH MH41256 and NS 07080 and by P01 AG 16765 (Program Project grant: John Morrison, Program Director).