Estrogen – Queen of Female Hormones –
The female brain reigns supreme when estrogen is in balance. Estradiol is the premier hormone in abundance in younger women, in whom it presides over female the functions of mood, memory and learning.
Estradiol modulates serotonin, the happiness neurotransmitter, and augments dopamine, the neurotransmitter of concentration. When mood and concentration issues arise in women over age 35, a hormonal investigation is merited. Women may spend a decade or more experiencing the cognitive effects of lowered estrogen many years before menopause, which often goes undetected and inappropriately addressed.
Not just female hormones , but male hormones affect the brain. Prolactin blocks the receptor sites for steroid hormones making the brain impermeable to estrogen . Without estrogen , thought is impaired, serotonin levels drop, sleep becomes disturbed.