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Alterations To Maternal Behavior And Brain By Exogenous Estrogen Exposure, Mary Catanese

Doctoral Dissertations

Maternal care is critical for the development and long-term success of offspring. Poor maternal care can have profound effects on offspring that can last into adult life. Despite our understanding of the role of endogenous estrogen in maternal behavior, the potential effects of exogenous estrogens (xenoestrogens) on maternal behavior and brain remain poorly understood. The active synthetic estrogen in contraceptive pills, 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2), is widely used as a positive control for estrogenicity in endocrinology and toxicology studies. Another xenoestrogen, bisphenol A (BPA) alters a broad range of physiological processes including neural development and reproduction. Due to public health concerns …