Menopause is part of life. Women are strong, women are leaders. This should not be a topic that is seen as taboo. The more we talk about it, the more we can demand information and solutions to that will make this natural transition easier.

Increase the questions and you will, in turn, increase the creation of research that will help to shed light onto Menopause and how we can find ways to combat its negative effects. This is the advice from Dr Lisa Mosconi, a leading neuroscientist contributing groundbreaking research to the female brain.

Dr Mosconi, in an amazing TedX talk, explains there is no such thing as a gender-brain. The female and male brain is exactly the same. The way the female and male response to the brain, is different.

Does Menopause influence the brain?

In the female body, the brain and the ovaries “talk” to each other all the time because these both form part of the neuroendocrine system. Estrogen is the hormone that as it declines through ageing, causes havoc, because of its influence on certain parts of the brain.

As an example, Dr Mosconi explains, the Hypothalamus of the brain regulates body temperature. With the steady decline of estrogen, there is less control of the hypothalamus, leading to hot flashes. Hot flashes are probably one of the most irritating symptoms of Menopause. 

Menopause is so much more than “an affliction” that happens after 50 in women. Understanding that it has a direct brain-influence as demonstrated in Dr Mosconi’s research on how menopause can influence the brain, might just be what we need to give it our full attention! Watch this space!