Influence of estrogen on the cereberral cortex of male rats

Effects of estrogen in the brain regions which are not directly related to neuroendocrine functions are not fully known. Therefore we investigated the long term effects on the cerebellar cortex of a neonatally (3rd day) administered single dose (1 mg) of estrogen. Golgi impregnated and paraffin sections of cerebella of 10 treated adult male rats and of 10 matched controls were studied. Simultaneous to the morphological analysis of the celebellar cortex, stereological methods were applied. The study indicates the long term effects of E2 on the cerebellar cortex of male rats, observed one year after its neonatal administration. These long term effects are expressed as changes in morphology and size of Purkinje cells, as well as changes in the thickness of cerebellar granular and molecular layers. Because our results are not expressed in a single or linear manner in all investigated structures, it is obvious that the plastic changes of the cerebellar cortex caused by estrogen are very complex.