Functional Brain Asymmetry and Menopausal Treatments: Is There a Link?
Giuseppe Alessandro Digesu,
Gaetano Riemma,
Marco Torella,
Marco La Verde,
Antonio Schiattarella,
Gaetano Maria Munno,
Diego Domenico Fasulo,
Angela Celardo,
Primo Vagnetti,
Salvatore Annona,
Maria Teresa Schettino,
Maurizio Guida,
Pasquale De Franciscis
Affiliations
Giuseppe Alessandro Digesu
St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare Trust, London OX3-01865, UK
Gaetano Riemma
Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Marco Torella
Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Marco La Verde
Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Antonio Schiattarella
Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Gaetano Maria Munno
Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Diego Domenico Fasulo
Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Angela Celardo
Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Primo Vagnetti
Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Salvatore Annona
Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Maria Teresa Schettino
Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Maurizio Guida
School of Medicine, Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy
Pasquale De Franciscis
Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Background and Objectives: The human brain presents a functional asymmetry for every cognitive function, and it is possible that sexual hormones could have an impact on it. Visual–spatial attention, one of the most lateralized functions and one that is mainly dependent on the right hemisphere, represents a sentinel for functional cerebral asymmetry (FCA). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) or phytoestrogens could modulate FCA in postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: We enrolled postmenopausal women who were taking MHT or soy isoflavones or receiving no therapy and asked them to perform the line bisection test at study enrollment and after 18 and 36 months. Results: Ninety women completed the follow-up. At zero time, women who had not been subjected to therapy showed a leftward deviation (F = −3.0), whereas, after 36 months, the test results showed a rightward deviation (F = 4.5; p p = 0.08). Conversely, women taking soy isoflavones started with a leftward deviation (F = −3.0) that became rightward (F = 3.0), with a significant difference shown after 36 months (p Conclusions: Our data suggest that hormonal modulation improves the interplay between the two hemispheres and reduces FCA. We propose, therefore, that the functions of the right hemisphere are mainly affected by aging and that this could be one of the reasons why the right hemisphere is more susceptible to the effects of MHT.
