The interdisciplinary field examining the specific molecular mechanisms, often involving neuroendocrine signaling, that underpin and regulate human cognitive processes such as memory formation, attention, and decision-making. It seeks to link changes in circulating hormones to alterations in synaptic function and neural network efficiency. This is the biochemical basis of mental performance.
Origin
This field is a direct offspring of molecular neuroscience and endocrinology, focusing intensely on the molecular substrates that modulate higher cortical function. It bridges the gap between systemic physiology and subjective mental experience.
Mechanism
Key mechanisms involve the direct genomic or non-genomic actions of steroids like allopregnanolone or testosterone on neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity markers like BDNF expression. Hormones modulate receptor density and neurotransmitter availability, directly setting the molecular substrate upon which cognition operates.
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