Commune with Jeff Krasno Sex Between Your Ears [Luminescence Podcast Preview]
Jan 27, 2026
Dr. Marisa Snyder, a menopause clinician focused on hormone effects on the brain, and Dr. Jolene Brighten, a naturopathic endocrinologist and clinical sexologist, discuss perimenopause science. They unpack estrogen and progesterone as brain regulators. They explain HPO axis basics, why libido and mood change, neurotransmitter shifts, and practical ways to approach symptoms.
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Estrogen Is The Brain's CEO
- Estrogen acts as the brain's CEO with receptors across memory, decision-making, and emotion centers.
- Erratic estrogen decline in your 30s–40s triggers a massive neural remodeling that alters mood, cognition, and libido.
Progesterone Fuels Calmness
- Progesterone converts to allopregnanolone which supports GABA and calm.
- Early progesterone decline raises anxiety, sleep issues, rage, and HPA/cortisol dysregulation.
Perimenopause Is A Second Puberty
- Perimenopause is a second puberty where hormones come offline and the brain remodels again.
- This remodeling explains why 80% of perimenopause symptoms are brain-related, not just reproductive.