This is Your Brain on Menopause
Neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Mosconi has dedicated her life to studying the effects of menopause on the brain. She wants you to know its effects are real and not--ahem--all in your head.
Back in the olden times (she said from her rocking chair), those of us who were in college during the Reagan 80s, busy doing drugs to ease our stress because suddenly sex could kill you, were treated to this iconic 1987 PSA, which I was thinking about a lot while reading Dr. Lisa Mosconi’s latest book, The Menopause Brain.
It was both easily mockable—nothing is quite as funny as a dorm room full of college kids tripping on acid when that ad would come on—but it was also effective. My brain, which can’t remember what I ate for breakfast let alone the name of that person walking toward me whom I’ve known for years, has never forgotten it. And I’ve also been a teetotaler for decades.
Similarly, I’m hoping all of us entering into, currently fanning ourselves through, or even long past menopause (and those without uteri who love us) will read The Menopause Brain and think about it as the years go on, and our nouns go out the window, and we can’t remember why the hell we walked into the living room. With chapters ranging from “You are Not Crazy” to “Estrogen Therapy for Menopause” to “Toxins and Estrogen Disrupters,” she covers it all with evidence-based science and easy-to-digest language. It’s like talking to a good friend who just happens to be both obscenely brilliant as well as one of the only scientists who, years ago, wondered why the hell no one was studying the menopausal brain and then dedicated her life to doing so.
I reached out to Dr. Mosconi—whom I met, interviewed, and photographed in her office back in 2019—and asked her several updated questions, now that I’ve read her new book. You can read our new interview below.
Deborah Copaken: Most of us tend to think of menopause as a transition involving the ovaries, not the brain. So why The Menopause Brain? What exactly is happening to our brains in menopause?
Lisa Mosconi: In my new book, The Menopause Brain, I aim to empower every woman with the knowledge that menopause impacts not just her reproductive system but also her brain. It's essential for women to understand that the changes occurring in their brain during menopause are an expect part of the transition, which can, however, bring on many of the most bothersome symptoms of menopause. When women experience hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, depressive symptoms, anxiety, brain fog, memory lapses – those are neurological symptoms that, at a minimum deserve acknowledging and, more broadly, require attention. By understanding how menopause affects the brain, women can better navigate this phase of life with confidence and resilience.
DC: You and I met five years ago, in 2019, when I was working at Neurotrack. I was in charge of content creation for the company, so mostly I was just looking to fill our Medium page with interesting stories to share with our potential customers, but the conversation I had with you that day in your office literally changed my life. Back then, basic nouns were eluding me. I was depressed. Having hot flashes. Not feeling like myself. For years, I’d been told estrogen would lead to breast cancer. We now know this was a lie, and we have plenty of scientists out there screaming about this and about the misinformation in the Women’s Health Initiative, but you were the first person to inform me of any of this, including your thoughts about the possible link between estrogen loss and Alzheimer’s, which you were then starting to study. I published a transcript of our conversation on Medium, thinking three people plus my mother would read it, and that would be that. It went instantly viral, with now three-quarters of a million views and still counting. I then followed up with a story in The Atlantic and started on menopause hormone therapy myself, which has been life-changing in nearly every way: my brain fog and depression are gone, my recurring UTIs have decreased, and I finally feel, for lack of a better phrase, like myself again. I even joined your study, donated my brain to the cause, and agreed to be one of the study participants interviewed for the Today Show with you. That’s how intensely I believe in your work and wanted to help move the science of women’s brain health forward. Can you tell us what you’ve found between 2019 and now, or is it too soon to draw any conclusions?
LM: It’s hard to believe it’s been five years already! I remember when your Medium story went viral, that was incredible. Thank you so much for participating in our studies and supporting our cause. You’re due for a follow-up, by the way :).
When I started studying the impact of menopause on the brain, I soon realized two important facts:
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