Emily Jacobs

Research Overview

Sex hormones are powerful neuromodulators of learning and memory. Foundational studies in rodents and nonhuman primates have established estrogen and progesterone’s influence within the central nervous system across a range of spatiotemporal scales. Yet, sex hormones’ influence on the structural and functional architecture of the human brain is largely unknown. The Jacobs Lab uses brain imaging, endocrine, and computational approaches to deepen our understanding of sex hormone action in the human brain. Major initiatives include the study of endocrine aging during the midlife transition to menopause, pharmacological studies of gonadal hormone suppression, and dense-sampling studies across the menstrual cycle.