Dear Colleagues,

Sex differences in the brain are established during important neurodevelopmental periods and are dependent on both genetic and hormonal factors. Such sex dimorphic imprinting is needed for normal physiology controlling reproduction and behavior. Its importance for brain function can be visualized by the sex differences in suceptibility to, and pathophysiology of, most neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. Sex hormone signaling in the brain can impact on neurogenesis, neural migration, survival, synaptic plasticity, and axon guidance. Rodent models have shown estrogen in particular to be key in mediating these physiological mechanisms, as most testosterone is aromatized to estrogen in the rodent brain. However, the contribution of testosterone and estrogen in the human brain may be different, which warrants catious interpretation of rodent data and a need for more translational research. In addition, sex hormones signal in many ways. Estrogen may not only directly regulate gene transcription through binding to its receptors in the nuclus but can bind receptors in the cytoplasm or at the cell membrane to mediate fast nongenomic effects in different cell types in the brain. Thus, sex hormone signaling in the brain is very complex. Nevertheless, understanding how sex hormones contribute to brain development and function in males and females holds great promise to understand sex differences in neurological diseases and may lead to the discovery new treatments or preventive measures to combate these diseases.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to summarize the current knowledge on how sex hormones, in particular estrogen, contribute to sex differences in healthy and diseased brains. Furthermore, it will discuss how such knowledge can be used to find novel treatments for neurological diseases.

We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Ivan Nalvarte
Guest Editor

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• sex differences
• estrogen
• neurobiology
• sex hormones
• brain