Hormones
Scientists reveal estrogen’s role in dopamine-driven learning
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Researchers at New York University have identified how estrogen shapes learning by strengthening dopamine-based reward signals in the brain. In experiments with rats, learning performance improved when estrogen levels were high and declined when the hormone’s activity was suppressed. The findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, may help explain cognitive fluctuations across hormonal cycles and offer clues to psychiatric disorders linked to dopamine.
Gut bacteria that recycle oestrogens back into the bloodstream are far more abundant in people from industrialised societies than in hunter-gatherers and rural farmers, according to a new study. Researchers found up to seven times greater recycling capacity in urban populations. The findings raise questions about potential health impacts from elevated hormone levels.
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A 45-year-old man from Nairobi seeks advice on his excessively large breasts, asking if it's a disease and what to do. Health experts describe the condition as gynaecomastia, stemming from an imbalance between estrogen and testosterone hormones. Consulting a doctor for examination is recommended to identify causes and treatments.