Research clarifies potential role of oestrogen in brain activity associated with memory

Research using functional magnetic resonance imaging has shown that giving standard doses of oestrogen to postmenopausal women increases activity in regions of the brain associated with memory (JAMA1999;281:1197-1202). These findings offer the best evidence yet that the hormone can affect the neural circuits involved in human memory and could help in treating Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, examined brain activity in 46 women as they memorised and then recalled …