Imaging NeuroscienceNov 9, 2026, 18:59 GMT

Age and hormones linked to coordination of brain activity

Brain scans and saliva tests in 138 adults aged 35–86 linked older age to generally lower coordination between two brain regions.

Paper by Tracey H. Hicks, Thamires Naela Cardoso Magalhães, Jessica A. Bernard · Texas A&M University

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Mechanisms

Studied:: Cross-sectional study of 138 adult humans from 35-86 years of age
What changed:: Brain connectivity was lower with older age and higher progesterone, but higher with higher estradiol
The catch:: Hormone samples and brain scans were separated by 0 to 216 days
In the record:: The 139th paper on estradiol with results in people; 714 on record in all.

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper

In 138 adults aged 35–86, including 74 women and 64 men, researchers mapped coordinated brain activity in a cross-sectional observational study. They examined the right cerebellum, involved in movement, and left hippocampus, involved in memory. Resting brain scans measured functional connectivity—how closely activity patterns in the regions varied together. Saliva tests measured sex hormones.

Older age generally correlated with lower connectivity. Higher levels of estradiol, a sex hormone, generally correlated with higher connectivity. Higher levels of progesterone, another sex hormone, were mainly linked to lower connectivity after accounting for age. Some connections showed opposite age or estradiol patterns. Connectivity was not significantly linked to cognitive task performance after accounting for age.

Why it matters

Mapping this circuit across middle and older adulthood provides a foundation for investigating neurological and psychiatric diseases, the authors concluded.

Caveats

Age comparisons were between different people rather than changes within individuals, and hormone sampling and scans were up to 216 days apart. The sample excluded people with mild cognitive impairment, dementia, neurological disease or diagnosed psychiatric illness, and those using hormone therapy.