Psychology Commons^™

Presynaptic Control Of Rapid Estrogen Fluctuations In The Songbird Auditory Forebrain, Luke Remage_Healey, S. Dong, N. T. Maidment, B. A. Schlinger

Luke Remage-Healey

Within the CNS of vertebrates, estrogens can directly modulate neural circuits that govern a wide range of behaviors, including feeding, spatial navigation, reproduction, and auditory processing. The rapid actions of estrogens in brain (seconds to minutes) have become well established, but it is unclear how estrogens are synthesized and released within restricted temporal and spatial domains in neural circuits. Anatomical localization of the estrogen synthesis enzyme (aromatase) within presynaptic terminals suggests that neuroestrogens can be synthesized directly at the neuronal synapse. A consequent prediction follows that synaptic estrogen production is controlled via classical electrochemical events in neurons. Here, we present …