Dr. Morrison noted that this study will allow for the development of prevention strategies in youth, such as further emphasis on learning skills and broadening expertise. "The data also provide a foundation for therapies to lessen cognitive decline, through pharmaceutical and lifestyle interventions," he added.

Dr. Morrison and his team have also received funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) over the last ten years to study cognitive performance in monkeys undergoing menopause. The funding supports research on whether treatment with estrogen enhances cognitive performance in monkeys after menopause and which synaptic effects of estrogen are critically important for cognitive enhancement.

In future experiments, Dr. Morrison's team will test the idea of a "window of opportunity," to determine whether treatment with hormone therapy needs to be initiated soon after menopause to have the optimal cognitive impact with little risk. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s Women's Health Initiative showed that women who took hormone therapy were at increased risk for breast cancer and cognitive decline. However, the data only focused on women who started therapy ten years after menopause. Dr. Morrison's study will evaluate the impact of hormone therapy at the start of menopause on cognition and determine if adverse effect risk is reduced.

"We look forward to continuing to study the impact aging has on cognition and potential ways to reduce that impact," said Dr. Morrison. "While hormone therapy has been controversial in the past, we hope to show that it can provide important cognitive benefits with little risk if initiated within a certain window of opportunity."

Source: Mount Sinai Medical Center