# Anxiety and Working Memory Function in Women: Exploring the Role of Dopamine and Ovarian Hormones

> **NIH NIH F31** · MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $38,943

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Anxiety is the 6th leading cause of disability worldwide and is two times more prevalent in females than males.
Importantly, anxiety is associated with reduced prefrontal cortex (PFC) function in areas critical for cognitive
processes such as working memory. Although preclinical models have proposed complex interactive effects of
anxiety and estradiol on working memory through modulations of prefrontal dopamine (DA), no research to
date has examined the translational significance of these models in human females. To address this gap, this
project aims to examine DA and estradiol’s effects on the relationship between worry, a core cognitive feature
of anxiety, and neural oscillatory activity (i.e., theta-gamma coupling; TGC) indexing working memory function
in females. The specific aims are to (1) establish the relationship between worry and TGC; (2) examine the role
of basal DA in the relationship between worry and TGC; and (3) to examine the role of estradiol in the
relationship between worry and TGC. Based on theoretical and empirical work demonstrating that worry
reduces performance by placing an additional “load” on the cognitive system, I expect that worry will be related
to reduced TGC, particularly under more difficult task conditions that place a high load on PFC function. To
address Aim 2, the role of basal DA will be examined, given its critical role in working memory function.
Specifically, DA demonstrates an inverted-U association with working memory function such that moderate
levels of DA promote optimal working memory function whereas too much or too little DA is impairing. As such,
I expect that higher worry will be associated with lower TGC in individuals with lower circulating DA (i.e., Val
allele carriers of the catechol-o-methyltransferase genotype). Finally, higher estradiol levels have been shown
to facilitate working memory-related PFC functioning in humans. I, therefore, predict that the association
between higher worry and lower TGC will be larger when estradiol levels are low compared to when they are
high in females across the menstrual cycle. This will be the first study of its kind to examine these aims and will
significantly advance the research by examining a neurobiologically plausible mechanism through which
anxiety impairs working memory function in females. Knowledge generated from this project will ultimately
advance theoretical models of anxiety and the unique mechanisms involved in the expression and impact of
anxiety in females for the improvement of women’s health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10403960
- **Project number:** 5F31MH125604-02
- **Recipient organization:** MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Courtney Carla Louis
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $38,943
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-05-16 → 2023-05-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10403960

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10403960, Anxiety and Working Memory Function in Women: Exploring the Role of Dopamine and Ovarian Hormones (5F31MH125604-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10403960. Licensed CC0.

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