The increase in female life expectancy during the past century has meant that women now live one-third of their lives beyond cessation of their ovarian function. This evolution in demography has increased the need for the development of new therapeutical strategies to promote successful aging, defined as low probability of disease, high cognitive and physical capacity and active engagement in life.

The growth, differentiation, normal physiology and aging of the CNS are all recognized to be influenced by gonadal steroid hormones. Steroids arriving from the gonads via the circulation modulate brain function, affecting gender differentiation and sexually differentiated behavioural responses, but also the ability of the brain to process, store and retrieve sensory information. Sex steroids (estrogen, androgen) play a pivotal neuroactive role during the “organizational/developmental” phase, mainly in the fetal-neonatal period, when participated to the formation of neuronal circuits, as well as during the aging process when it has been demonstrated to directly affect synapse density and remodelling, suggesting a physiopathological role for sex steroids in the modulation and perception of measure of quality of life, cognitive function and development of neurovegetative disease.

In postmenopause as well as during ageing process, neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and neurosteroids undergo important changes as a consequence of the failure of gonadal and adrenal hormone production, bringing on specific symptoms due to CNS derangement. Hot flushes, sweat, obesity and hypertension are consequences of the neuroendocrine changes in the hypothalamus. Mood changes, anxiety, depression, insomnia, headaches/migraine, sexual dysfunction are related to postmenopausal alterations of sovrahypothalamic areas.

Because changes in the aging nervous system are subtle, it may be possible to reverse them and to improve cognitive and sexual behavioural performance by pharmacological treatments. Though a large attention has been given to the study of postmenopause and to the options in hormone replacement treatment (estrogens and progestins), relative attention and awareness has been focused on the activity of endogenous or exogenous androgens in women. In fact the middle age of women life is characterized by the coexistence of menopause and adrenopause that sometimes both partecipate to create the androgen-deficiency syndrome. Thus, much more interested have been launched to the study of androgen role in the modulation of brain function in term of sexuality, mood, cognition and neuroaging process. The presentation summarize the neuroactive effect of estrogen and androgen in the female body and in particular in female brain with particular regard to their impact of measure of quality of life and sexuality.