Ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel alter cognition and anxiety in rats concurrent with a decrease in tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the locus coeruleus and brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in the hippocampus

Psychoneuroendocrinology
Jean SimonePhilip V Holmes

Abstract

In the United States, more than ten million women use contraceptive hormones. Ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel have been mainstay contraceptive hormones for the last four decades. Surprisingly, there is scant information regarding their action on the central nervous system and behavior. Intact female rats received three weeks of subcutaneous ethinyl estradiol (10 or 30μg/rat/day), levonorgestrel (20 or 60μg/rat/day), a combination of both (10/20μg/rat/day and 30/60μg/rat/day), or vehicle. Subsequently, the rats were tested in three versions of the novel object recognition test to assess learning and memory, and a battery of tests for anxiety-like behavior. Serum estradiol and ovarian weights were measured. All treatment groups exhibited low endogenous 17β-estradiol levels at the time of testing. Dose-dependent effects of drug treatment manifested in both cognitive and anxiety tests. All low dose drugs decreased anxiety-like behavior and impaired performance on novel object recognition. In contrast, the high dose ethinyl estradiol increased anxiety-like behavior and improved performance in cognitive testing. In the cell molecular analyses, low doses of all drugs induced a decrease in tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA and protein in ...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jun 25, 2016·Journal of Molecular Endocrinology·Silvia GiattiMarzia Pesaresi
May 15, 2020·Journal of Molecular Neuroscience : MN·Zhongsen LiShaohua Wang
Dec 29, 2020·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Regine Sitruk-WareCesar V Borlongan
Oct 16, 2019·Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology·Patrizia PorcuAlessandra Concas

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