Sex hormone fluctuation and increased female risk for depression and anxiety disorders: From clinical evidence to molecular mechanisms

•Anxiety and depression disorders are twice as prevalent in women as in men.•Sex-hormone fluctuations shape the brain and confer female-specific psychiatric risk.•The estrous cycle involves extensive chromatin reorganization in the mouse brain.•Hormone-driven chromatin changes may prime the (epi)genome for psychopathology.•Studies of hormonally-induced risk will reveal sex-specific targets for treatment.