The effects of estrogen on memory : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

Abstract

Many theories have been proposed as to why women are more likely to experience dementia and other memory problems after menopause. One of the more popular theories is that the estrogen that women produce in abundance before menopause but very scarcely after menopause somehow affects memory functioning in women. This study looks to verify this information by looking at whether or not the memory of premenopausal women fluctuates at different stages of the menstrual cycle when hormones are at varying levels. If the same kinds of changes are seen in premenopausal women as are seen in women as they go through menopause then it would lend valuable confirmation to this theory on estrogen. If, on the other hand, little or no changes are seen in premenopausal women then there is perhaps a confounding variable leading to the memory deficits in older women. Although the results of this study are inconclusive, it is still an area that should be researched further in the future. If studied with more women across a greater span of time then a pattern might emerge that could help us to diagnose and treat memory deficits in all women.