HORMONE replacement therapy may help keep ageing women鈥檚 memory in tip-top
condition.
Elizabeth Hampson at the University of Western Ontario tested the memories of
96 postmenopausal women. Those taking oestrogen performed significantly better
on verbal and spatial tasks. Such tasks use what is called 鈥渨orking memory鈥�,
which demands simultaneous processing and storage of information (Hormones
and Behavior, vol 38, p 262). The women on HRT did no better on simple
recall, however, which does not involve working memory.
鈥淭he effects of oestrogen in the nervous system are likely a lot more
pervasive than we鈥檝e realised,鈥� says Hampson. Indeed, recent research has
suggested that the reason why men are more prone to Parkinson鈥檚 disease is
because they have much lower levels of oestrogen.
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