Estrogen Impacts on Emotion: Psychological, Neuroscience and Endocrine Studies

Abstract

Estrogen exerts influence on the central nervous system through complex mechanisms of physiology and psychology. Estrogen can affect the generation and efficiency of neurotransmitters in amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal lobes which are the important brain areas related to emotional cognition. It also plays a role in changing the emotional behavior by acting on the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The genetic transcription of estrogen receptors also can modulate the emotional behavior. The estrogen can impact the emotional processing by neuropsychological factors. It enhances the coding ability of emotion and the recognition accuracy of facial expression. The estrogen can affect the emotional arousal and change the intensity of emotional experience. The future study should combine various factors of psychological, neuroscience and endocrine to solve the problem of emotional disorders in women.