Moving Forward

Part IV of this book briefly integrates lessons learned among the many chapters and discusses paths forward for future research in both animals and humans. Suggested future directions for animal research include continued efforts to uncover molecular, cell-specific, and circuit-level mechanisms through which estrogens regulate memory, increased attention to glia, de novo estrogen synthesis, interactions between neuromodulators, sex differences, hormonal changes across the lifespan, multiple brain regions, multiple forms of memory, and improving our models of menopause and estrogen therapy. Future clinical work would benefit better understanding the role of various estrogens in regulating cognition and mental illness in humans throughout the lifespan. In particular, many questions remain to be answered for menopausal women, including how reproductive history, menopausal estrogen loss, genetics, diet, stress, metabolic alterations, cardiovascular disease, and inflammation interact to influence memory and mood dysfunction. Addressing these issues will provide sorely needed insights into estrogen regulation of memory.