The role of gonadal hormones in women’s vulnerability to affective disorders

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  • 女性の情動関連障害への脆弱性に対する性腺ホルモンの関与
  • ジョセイ ノ ジョウドウ カンレン ショウガイ エ ノ ゼイジャクセイ ニ タイスル セイセン ホルモン ノ カンヨ

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Abstract

Affective disorders are characterized by a significant dysfunction of controlling a person's emotional state or mood, inducing social maladjustment. Because women have approximately twice the risk for these disorders than men and the risk increases during peri-menstrual, pregnant, and menopausal periods, it is considered that gonadal hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, are involved in women’s vulnerability to the disorders. In this review, we focus on the risk factors of women’s typical affective disorders and discuss the neuroendocrinological mechanisms regulating them. Many studies have provided evidence that the limbic system, including the amygdala and hippocampus, play an important role in regulating the emotional state, and that the GABAergic and monoaminergic neurotransmitter systems and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis are involved in the neurobiology of affective disorders. In addition, the brain areas involved in emotion are rich in estrogen receptors (ERs) and estrogens influence the functions of the neurotransmitter and neuroendocrine system. Especially, the distinct roles for two ER subtypes, ERα and ERβ, in HPA axis activity may be responsible for the development of women’s vulnerability to affective disorders. Understanding this rucial mechanism will help provide a prophylactic and therapeutic preparation for women specific affective disorders.

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