Androgen effects on the female brain

For decades, research on the role of sexual hormones on women’ and female animal brain has been focused on estrogens, with scant data on androgens (testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate/DHEA-S), in spite of the fact that the serum levels of testosterone and of proandrogens exceed that of estradiol, even during peak reproductive years. Only in the last decade the focus has definitely shifted on the role of androgens.
The presentation analyzes the current evidence on the role of androgens on women’s brain with focus on three main topics:
1. neuronal physiology and pathophysiology;
2. cholinergic (cognition), serotoninergic (mood) and dopaminergic (motor) systems;
3. sexual function.