CA1 pyramidal cell dendrites reconstructed from serial electron microscopic sections. The upper dendrite is from an ovariectomized control animal and the lower dendrite is from an ovariectomized, estrogen treated animal. The dendrites are shown in white. Presynaptic axonal varicosities that form only one synapse are in blue. Axonal varicosoties that form more than one synapse with the same postsynaptic cell are in yellow, whereas varicosities that form multiple synapses with different cells are in green. Dendritic spines from different cells are shown in orange. Estrogen treatment increases the number of 'other cell' multiple synapse varicosities, enhancing synaptic connectivity between single presynaptic inputs and multiple postsynaptic CA1 pyramidal cells.

Expanded References

• Woolley, C.S. (2007) Acute Effects of Estrogen on Neuronal Physiology. Annual Reviews of Pharmacology and Toxicology 47: 657-680.

• Hart, S.A., Snyder, M.A., Smejkalova, T. and C.S. Woolley (2007) Estrogen mobilizes a subset of estrogen receptor-a-immunoreactive vesicles in inhibitory presynaptic boutons in hippocampal CA1. J. Neurosci., 27(8): 2102-2111.

• Cooke, B.M. and C.S. Woolley (2005) Sexually dimorphic synaptic organization of the medial amygdala. J. Neurosci. 25(46): 10759-10767.

• Ledoux, V.L. and C.S. Woolley (2005) Evidence that disinhibition is associated with a decrease in number of vesicles available for release at inhibitory synapses. J. Neurosci. 25(4): 971-976.

• Rudick, C.N., R.B. Gibbs and C.S. Woolley (2003) A role for the basal forebrain cholinergic system in estrogen-induced disinhibition of hippocampal pyramidal cells. J. Neurosci. 23(11): 4479-4490.

• Yankova, M., S.A. Hart and C.S. Woolley (2001) Estrogen increases synaptic connectivity between single presynaptic inputs and multiple postsynaptic CA1 pyramidal cells: a serial electron microscopic study. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA 98(6): 3525-3530.

• Hart, S.A., J.D. Patton and C.S. Woolley (2001) Quantitative analysis of ERa and GAD co-localization in the hippocampus of the adult female rat. J. Comp. Neurol. 440(2): 144-155.

• Rudick, C.N. and C.S. Woolley (2001) Estrogen regulates functional inhibition of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells in the adult female rat. J. Neurosci. 21(17): 6532-6543.