Chapter 14 - Gonadal steroid hormones’ influence on reward and decision-making processes

Abstract

There is now compelling evidence that gonadal steroid hormones, through cellular and molecular mechanisms of action in the brain, influence behavioral and physiological processes that go beyond their traditional role in the regulation of hypothalamic activity and reproduction. These actions begin during gestation and may produce organizational, long-lasting, structural changes leading to sexual dimorphisms. This chapter focuses on the effects of gonadal steroid hormones on reward processing and decision-making, which critically depend on dopaminergic neurotransmission. It reviews evidence from animal and human studies that indicate the important roles played by variations of gonadal steroid hormones on a number of cerebral inter-individual differences (e.g., between men and women, between hypogonadal patients and healthy subjects) and intra-individual differences (e.g., differences across phases of the menstrual cycle or at different stages of the lifespan, such as menopause or andropause). Taken together, these studies help to understand the impact of gonadal steroids on vulnerability to drug abuse, neuropsychiatric diseases with differential expression across males and females, and hormonally mediated mood disorders.