Hormones and the Brain
Staff:
Julie Bakker (VICI)
Franyke Banga
Rien Blankenstein
Hong Bui
Peggy Cohen-Kettenis
Jan Berend Deijen
Madeleine Drent
Annemieke Heijboer
Peter Hompes
Jaap Huisman
Baudewijntje Kreukels
Esther Kuijper
Nils Lambalk contact
Kim Oostrom
Pim de Ronde
Joost Rotteveel
Remi Soleman
Mick van Trotsenburg
Dick Veltman
Mirjam van Weissenbruch
Introduction
The field of Neuroendocrinology involves the study of the interaction between the nervous system and the endocrine system, in particular how the nervous system controls the endocrine system and how hormones, in turn, affect brain functioning to help adapt the organism to the environment. In addition, it also involves studying the ability of the brain itself to produce peptidergic and steroid hormones. Many hormonal actions concern traditional feedback to brain areas that govern fundamental metabolic, homeostatic and reproductive functions. Also higher nervous system functions such as cognition and affection closely interact with the endocrine system.
Scope
The first aim of the research group “Hormones and the brain” involves the study of how hormones affect cognition and emotion. The second aim focuses on identifying the neural, hormonal, and genetic mechanisms that control fundamental features of human existence – sex differences in gender identity and sexuality.
Patients
Several groups of patients, some with remarkable conditions that visit the VUmc frequently enable our research unit to study these topics extensively.
These consist of
1) transsexual patients for which the VUmc is the only Dutch hospital that harbours a specialized clinic
2) newborns (twins, low birthweight children, premature children, twins and children after assisted reproduction)
3) aged men and men with Klinefelter syndrome
4) women with premature ovarian failure
5) women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) which is the most frequent endocrine disorder observed in women (5%)
6) patients with growth hormone deficiency of which the VUmc harbours the Dutch registry.
Animals
More mechanistic studies investigating the development of the neural circuits controlling sexual orientation will be done using various transgenic mouse models with disrupted sex hormone levels and/or hormone receptors, such as the aromatase knockout mouse (ArKO), the alpha-foetoprotein knockout (AFP-KO) mouse, the androgen receptor knockout mouse (ARKO). Finally a crossbred between AFP-KO and the SRY transgenic mouse will be used to study the possible contribution of sex chromosome genes on the sexual differentiation of the brain.
Research lines
In transsexual patients we study the dependence of higher brain functions of cross-sexual hormones such as androgens in the female brain and estrogens in the male brain.
Furthermore, in order to study the hormonal and genetic mechanisms that control psychosexual differentiation, we will use functional imaging studies to measure the activation of the endocrine system (GnRH, kisspeptin) to sexual stimuli (pheromones).
In the women suffering from PCOS we study the effects of a natural female over-exposure to androgens. In aged men, and patients with Klinefelter syndrome we study the effects of low circulating androgens on cognition and affection and in the same way in women with premature ovarian failure we study the effects of prolonged low exposure to estrogens.
In newborns we study crucial basic reproductive endocrine consequences of maternal reproductive disorders (such as PCOS), birth weight and duration of pregnancy and twin type in particular sex-opposite versus same-sex twins. In particular male-female twins are interesting to study because it has been assumed that intrauterine exposure to cross sex hormones (estrogens in boys, androgens in girls) may influence higher brain functions. Similarly we will study newborn children from mothers that have hyperandrogenism and children after artificial conception and low birth weight and prematurity.
We study effects of GH replacement therapy on brain development after prenatal growth retardation and on cognitive function in adults with Growth Hormone Deficiency including childhood cancer survivors.
Methods
Endocrine intervention, olfactory intervention, cognitive testing, endocrine testing, functional MRI, MEG scan, long term follow up.
