Emily G. Jacobs, “Dynamic Endocrine Modulation of the Nervous System”

Gonadal hormones are powerful neuromodulators of learning and memory. In rodents and nonhuman primates estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone influence the central nervous system across a range of spatiotemporal scales. Yet, their influence on the structural and functional architecture of the human brain is largely unknown. In this talk, I review evidence from precision neuroimaging studies that map the human brain across neuroendocrine transitions (the diurnal rhythm, menstrual cycle, and pregnancy), revealing hormones' ability to rapidly and dynamically shape aspects of the mammalian nervous system. I end by stepping back to consider why women's health research is decades behind where it should be, and how we can accelerate the pace of change so that the scientific body of knowledge serves all bodies.

Emily G. Jacobs is an Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Science at UC Santa Barbara and Director of the Ann S. Bowers Women's Brain Health Initiative. She received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from UC Berkeley and a B.A. in Neuroscience from Smith College. Her lab uses multimodal brain imaging tools and biofluid assessments to understand how hormones shape the brain over the life course. Recently, her lab pioneered the use of precision imaging methods to generate the first map of the human brain across pregnancy. In recognition of her work, she was named a Hellman Fellow, a National Institutes of Health "BIRCWH" Women's Health Fellow, a National Academy of Sciences Frontiers of Science Kavli Fellow for "distinguished young scientists under 45" and one of ten scientists to watch by Science News. Her lab regularly partners with K-12 groups to advance girls' representation in STEM. Her work appears in The New York Times, Netflix, NPR, BBC, MasterClass, National Geographic, Scientific American, and TED.