Abstract
The ovaries are often thought of as the main and only source of estrogens involved in the regulation of female behavior. However, aromatase, the key enzyme for estrogen synthesis, although it is more abundant in males, is expressed and active in the brain of females where it is regulated by similar mechanisms as in males. Early work had shown that estrogens produced in the ventromedial hypothalamus are involved in the regulation of female sexual behavior in musk shrews. However, the question of the role of central aromatase in general had not received much attention until recently. Here, I will review the emerging concept that central aromatization plays a role in the regulation of physiological and behavioral endpoints in females. The data support the notion that in females, brain aromatase is not simply a non-functional evolutionary vestige, and provide support for the importance of locally produced estrogens for brain function in females. These observations should also have an impact for clinical research.
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Abbreviations
- BST:
-
Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis
- DHEA:
-
Dehydroepiandrosterone
- DHT:
-
Dihydrotestosterone
- E2:
-
Estradiol
- EB:
-
Estradiol benzoate
- FSH:
-
Follicle stimulating hormone
- GnRH:
-
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone
- HPOA:
-
Hypothalamus-preoptic area
- Kp:
-
Kisspeptin
- LH:
-
Luteinizing hormone
- MBH:
-
Mediobasal hypothalamus
- MeA:
-
Medial amygdala
- MPOA:
-
Medial preoptic area
- NCM:
-
Caudomedial nidopalium
- POA:
-
Preoptic area
- POM:
-
Medial preoptic nucleus
- VMH:
-
Ventromedial hypothalamus
- VMN:
-
Ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr Jacques Balthazart for his careful reading of a previous version of this manuscript. C.A.C is Senior Research Associate from the Belgian Funds for Research (Fonds de la Recherche Nationale or F.R.S.-FNRS) and her work reviewed here was supported by the National Institutes for Health (R01 NIH/MH50388).
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Cornil, C.A. On the role of brain aromatase in females: why are estrogens produced locally when they are available systemically?. J Comp Physiol A 204, 31–49 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-017-1224-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-017-1224-2