Regulation of cognitive function by androgens and estrogens

Our understanding of cognitive sex differences is being transformed by advances in the neurosciences. Recent evidence suggests that reproductive steroids currently available to the central nervous system via the bloodstream may dynamically regulate at least some cognitive functions in adulthood, via their effects on gene transcription or other mechanisms that modify neuronal activity. This mini-review uses working memory and the internal spatial representation of objects (e.g. mental rotation) as examples, to illustrate how current conceptualizations are beginning to recognize endocrine variables, including context-dependent changes in the hormonal milieu of the brain, as sources of between-sex and within-sex variations in cognitive performance.