Date of Graduation

2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

Committee Chair

Kristine M. Krajnak

Abstract

Over 43 million women today are nearing or have passed menopause and 21 million more will be entering their climacteric period over the next decade. Cognitive symptoms such as poor memory and the inability to concentrate have been reported in perimenopausal and menopausal women. The goal of this study was to determine both the single and combined effects that age, estrogen and environmental enrichment have on neurogenesis, synapotgenesis, and dendritic spine density in the hippocampus region of the female rat brain. Ovariectomized, female Sprague-dawley rats were administered either estrogen replacement or a vehicle. The rats were then subjected to either an enriched environment, a controlled enriched environment or kept in their cage. After three hours of exposure for three consecutive days, animals were sacrificed and brains were collected for immunocytochemical procedures. We found that neurogenesis was significantly increased by estradiol treatment, regardless of age. In both the CA1 and DG regions of the hippocampus, the animals which were subjected to either the enriched or novel environmental conditions, plus given estrogen replacement, showed a significant increase in memory performance that was correlated with an increase in neurogenesis, dendritic spine density and synaptogenesis. The results of our study suggest that estrogen replacement along with an enriched stimulating lifestyle can help combat the cognitive symptoms associated with menopause, as well as possible establish a neuroprotective role in helping combat neurodegenerative diseases such as AD.

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