This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Roca, C. A. Articles by Rubinow, D. R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Roca, C. A. Articles by Rubinow, D. R. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Review : Gonadal Steroids and Affective Illness

Behavioral Endocnnology Branch National Institute of Mental Health Bethesda, Maryland

Peter J. Schmidt

Behavioral Endocnnology Branch National Institute of Mental Health Bethesda, Maryland

David R. Rubinow

Behavioral Endocnnology Branch National Institute of Mental Health Bethesda, Maryland

Gonadal steroids seem to regulate affective state in some people (but not all), despite the absence of abnormal steroid hormone levels or dysfunction of the reproductive endocrine axis. In this article, we attempt to explain this paradox 1) by describing the molecular mechanisms by which gonadal steroids can regulate neuronal function; 2) by describing the specific regulatory impact of gonadal steroids on two systems im plicated in the pathophysiology of mood disorders; and 3) by defining the role of gonadal steroids in several mood disorders linked to periods of reproductive change. We suggest that the context in which the neuro- regulatory actions of gonadal steroids occur determines the impact of steroid signaling on the regulation of affective state. NEUROSCIENTIST 5:227-237, 1999

Key Words: KEY WORDS Estrogen • Progesterone • Androgens • Depression

The Neuroscientist, Vol. 5, No. 4, 227-237 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/107385849900500412


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?