Pregnenolone is a hormone naturally produced in the body. It is synthesized in the adrenals and gonads where it serves as a precursor to all the steroid hormones – DHEA, testosterone, progesterone, estrogen, cortisol, aldosterone and others.
Pregnenolone is also synthesized in the brain and central nervous system, where it acts (directly and as the sulfate) as a neurosteroid. As a neurosteroid it serves a variety of functions – most notably as an enhancer of NMDA activity and suppressor of GABA activity. This may in part be responsible for its purported memory enhancement, mood elevating, and energizing activities.