Increased anxiety and synaptic plasticity in estrogen receptor beta-deficient mice

Estrogens are powerful modulators of neuronal physiology and in humans may affect a broad range of functions, including reproductive, emotional, and c ognitive behaviors. We studied the contribution of estrogen receptors (ERs) in modulation of emotional processes and analyzed the effects of deleting ER alpha or ER beta in mice. Behavior consistent with increased anxiety was observed principally in ER beta mutant females and was associated with a r educed threshold for the induction of synaptic plasticity in the basolatera l amygdala. Local increase of 5-hydroxytryptamine 1a receptor expression in medial amygdala may contribute to these changes. Our data show that, parti cularly in females, there is an important role for ER beta -mediated estrog en signaling in the processing of emotional behavior.