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Say the word testosterone, and most people picture muscle mass or libido. But this hormone also plays a quiet, essential role inside the brain.
In the brain, it binds to androgen receptors in regions involved in memory, emotion, and decision-making, including the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex. There, it supports neuronal survival, helps regulate neuroinflammation, and contributes to cognitive function and emotional well-being.
Its story doesn't end there.
Within the brain, the enzyme aromatase can convert testosterone into estradiol, allowing testosterone to exert some of its effects through estrogen signaling. Rather than acting as separate systems, these hormones are part of an interconnected network that helps maintain brain health.
In the Barreto Lab, we often explore how declining estradiol contributes to brain ageing and neurodegeneration. But understanding the ageing brain requires looking beyond a single hormone. Testosterone, and its interactions with estradiol, also shapes how the brain ages, helping explain why women and men can follow different trajectories of cognitive ageing and disease vulnerability.
#Neuroscience #BrainResearch #Testosterone
When we think about menopause, we usually think about hot flushes or hormonal changes.
But one of the biggest changes happens somewhere we can't see: the brain's energy supply.
The brain consumes around 20% of the body's energy, and that energy depends on mitochondria. Research now suggests this system is closely regulated by ovarian hormones.
Experimental studies show that estrogen and progesterone help maintain mitochondrial respiration, support electron transport chain activity, and reduce oxidative stress. When these hormones decline, brain mitochondria become less efficient at producing energy.
Human brain imaging tells a similar story.
During the menopausal transition, women show reduced glucose metabolism in brain regions that are particularly vulnerable in Alzheimer's disease. Importantly, these metabolic changes are linked more closely to reproductive stage than to chronological age alone. Some studies have even detected these energetic shifts alongside early amyloid-β deposition and structural brain changes before clinical symptoms appear.
This doesn't mean menopause causes Alzheimer's disease.
It does suggest that the menopausal transition represents a period of altered brain bioenergetics one: that may increase vulnerability in some women and deserves much greater attention.
Understanding how hormones shape mitochondrial function could help explain why Alzheimer's disease affects women differently, and why the biology of aging cannot be understood by studying one sex alone.
#Neuroscience #Mitochondria #Menopause #AlzheimersDisease #BrainHealth #WomenHealth #Neurobiology
When people hear estradiol, they usually think of reproduction. But one of its most remarkable roles is in the brain.
Far from being "just a sex hormone," estradiol helps neurons communicate, strengthens synaptic connections that underlie learning and memory, supports mitochondrial energy production, promotes neuronal survival, and contributes to mood regulation. In other words, it helps the brain stay adaptable, resilient, and energetically efficient.
One of the most striking aspects of brain ageing is that estradiol is also one of the first major neuroprotective signals to decline. During menopause, this hormonal shift coincides with changes in brain metabolism, cognition, and inflammatory responses, and is thought to contribute to the increased risk of Alzheimer's disease observed in women.
While estradiol is not the sole driver of these processes, understanding how this single molecule influences so many aspects of brain function is helping researchers uncover new mechanisms of healthy ageing and identify potential therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases.
💡 Sometimes, one molecule can influence an entire network.
#OneMoleculeOneMinute #Estradiol #Neuroscience #BrainHealth #Neurobiology #Mitochondria #SynapticPlasticity #Menopause #AlzheimersDisease #HealthyAgeing
🇧🇷🇮🇪 It was an honour to welcome to the University of Limerick, from 17-23 June, Drs Sheila Alvim, Yadira Morejón, Rogério Tosta and Gioconda Maritza, researchers from ELSA-Brasil (the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health) and the Federal University of Bahia (Brazil).
ELSA-Brasil is one of the largest and most influential cohort studies in Latin America, following more than 15,000 adults over time to investigate the social, behavioural and biological determinants of chronic disease. The richness and longitudinal depth of its data offer a unique opportunity to study brain health and cognition in the adult population.
Our lab is proud to collaborate on a joint project led by Dr Alvim and funded by CNPq (Brazil), examining how diet and ethnicity influence cognition and functional capacity in women during the menopausal transition, a period of profound endocrine change that remains underexplored from a brain health perspective.
During the visit, the group met with UL researchers to explore new collaborations using the ELSA dataset and to deepen the scientific exchange between our institutions. We came away from these days with renewed ideas and even stronger ties between Brazil and Ireland. 🧠🔬
#ELSABrasil #NeuroendocrineHealth #WomensBrainHealth #UL #UFBA #BrainAging
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Limerick UL Research
💊 Do older adults really need supplements? The answer is more nuanced than many headlines suggest.
Dietary supplements are often marketed as a shortcut to healthy ageing. But evidence shows that for many older adults, the key question is not which supplement should I take? It's do I actually need one?
🔬 The evidence suggests that:
• 𝗩𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝟭𝟮 supplementation may be important when deficiency is present, particularly in individuals taking medications that impair absorption.
• 𝗩𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗗 can be beneficial for those at risk of deficiency, limited sun exposure, or osteoporosis.
• 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻 intake remains one of the most overlooked aspects of healthy ageing, playing a crucial role in maintaining muscle mass, strength, and independence.
• 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: excessive supplementation can interact with medications or even lead to toxicity.
Perhaps the most important message is this: healthy ageing starts with food, movement, and evidence-based care, not with the supplement promising the loudest results.
While neuroscience is at the heart of our work, we are equally interested in how systemic factors such as nutrition and metabolism influence brain health and ageing.
Read More Here
#HealthyAgeing #Nutrition #Geriatrics #EvidenceBasedMedicine #Supplements #AgeingResearch #NutritionScience
We are delighted to welcome Sarah to our lab for her MSc research project!
Sarah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Agricultural Science Teaching, during which she developed a strong interest in genetics, microbiology, and human biology, leading her to pursue neuroscience research.
Her MSc project will investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying brain ageing and Alzheimer’s disease, with a particular focus on how oestrogen regulates these processes in postmenopausal women. Her work will contribute to our ongoing efforts to understand the biological pathways driving neurodegeneration and brain resilience during ageing.
Outside the lab, she enjoys going to the gym and staying active.
We are excited to have her in the team and look forward to her contributions over the coming months.
#Neuroscience #AlzheimersResearch #BrainResearch #Neurodegeneration #MScResearch
