# The role of hippocampal astrocytes in memory and estrogenic regulation of memory

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MILWAUKEE · 2021 · $28,127

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Memory dysfunction is a common feature in mental illnesses and neurodegenerative disease. However,
treatment options for aberrant memory processes are sorely lacking, in part due to our limited understanding of
the neurobiological processes that are critical for normal memory consolidation. Thus, there is an urgent need
to identify molecular mechanisms regulating memory formation. The current project aims to examine
mechanisms of memory consolidation within the hippocampus, a brain region critical for several different
memory processes. Previous work in our lab has demonstrated that the potent estrogen 17β-estradiol (E2) can
enhance memory in male and female mice when delivered systemically or directly into the dorsal
hippocampus. However, whether these effects are mediated by neurons alone, or interactions between
neurons and glia, remains unknown. Astrocytes, despite being the most abundant cell type in the brain, have
been historically relegated to a supportive role in the central nervous system. However, recent evidence
suggests a more active role for astrocytes in synaptic activity in brain regions like the hippocampus.
Furthermore, astrocytes express multiple estrogen receptor subtypes, providing potential binding sites for E2 to
exert its memory-enhancing effects. Our long-term goal is to pinpoint the cellular and molecular mechanisms in
the hippocampus through which sex steroid hormones regulate memory formation. The overall objective for
this application, which is the next step toward attainment of our goal, is to determine the extent to which
astrocytes contribute to memory consolidation, and establish a potential role for astrocytes in E2's beneficial
effects on memory consolidation. Our central hypotheses are that astrocytic activity at hippocampal synapses
is critical for memory consolidation, and that E2-induced memory enhancement depends on astrocyte activity.
These hypotheses were formulated on the basis of our own data showing that E2 enhances memory
consolidation in male and female mice, data from other labs demonstrating a potential regulatory role for
astrocytes in memory processes, and our preliminary data demonstrating a regulatory role for E2 in levels of
astrocytic protein expression. Our hypotheses will be tested in two specific aims designed to: 1) determine the
necessity of astrocytic activity in the dorsal hippocampus for memory consolidation, and 2) establish the extent
to which astrocytes and E2 interact to mediate memory consolidation. This research is innovative because it
represents a conceptual shift from a neuron-centric view of memory modulation. Furthermore, this research is
significant because it will provide essential foundational knowledge about the ways in which astrocytes and E2
mediate memory consolidation, thereby providing sorely needed insights about memory formation that could
spur development of novel therapies to reduce memory dysfunction in patients suffering from neurops...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10221499
- **Project number:** 5F31MH118822-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MILWAUKEE
- **Principal Investigator:** Lisa R Taxier
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $28,127
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-18 → 2022-01-06

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10221499

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10221499, The role of hippocampal astrocytes in memory and estrogenic regulation of memory (5F31MH118822-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10221499. Licensed CC0.

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