What role do estrogen and the menstrual cycle play in the moods of women? Is ‘baby brain’ a real phenomena or does the brain actually sharpen during motherhood? What are the symptoms of menopause and how natural and effective is HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy)?

- Use the time stamps for those interested only in the neuroscience of Menopause (01:07:45) and Motherhood (37:00). 

- NO VIDEO Episode, audio only.

Today we have the important topic of women’s hormones to up our awareness about. A big part of the experience we have of our bodies is thanks to hormones, also called  neurotransmitters because they help our nervous system communicate with the rest of the body about what’s going on inside and outside the body. Having accompanied my partner through the process of having two children, and us both having had many unanswered questions about that; and now heading into my late forties having many female friends and listeners heading towards menopause, and speaking publicly about how they wished there’d been given more information about it as it seems not to be discussed much, even amongst women. So I felt the need to make a show about the science and experience of female hormones, particularly with regard to motherhood and menopause; in the hope that women facing these experiences and men hoping to be informed and supportive to those experiences might get more insight. If you’re looking for a show about the comparison or difference between men and women, or Mars or Venus, or the battle of the sexes this is not the show for you: this is simply an informative show about the female brain and particularly about the changes that take place during motherhood and menopause. Unfortunately there is hardly any research into the neuroscience and hormones of trans people, so I apologise in advance for the fact that this show speaks only of those who are born and identify themselves as women. 

We are extremely fortunate that our guest today is a neuroscientist and author who has specialised in the Female Brain, both studying the full arc of a woman’s life  in her highly accessible yet detailed book “The Women’s Brain Book: The neuroscience of Health, Hormones and Happiness”; and most recently in her new 2023 book “Baby Brain: The surprising science of how pregnancy and motherhood sculpt our brains and change our minds (for the better)”. She is of course Dr. Sarah McKay, an Oxford University phD in Neuroscience, whose super power is to make neuroscience simple, actionable and relevant to your everyday life. So she chose to leave her research career in favour of science communication, hoping to bridge the gap between the lab and everyday life. She’s the founder of the Neuroscience Academy; has been the neuroscience correspondent for ABC in Australia and has been quoted in the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Grazia and the Sydney Morning Herald.

What we discuss:

00:00 Intro.

10:55 Menstrual cycle and estrogen neuroscience.

13:45 Brain-ovarian axis (HPO hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis).

18:45 Wrong assumption that estrogen equals negative moods in women.

24:30 PMS misconceptions - proved to affect only %10 of population.

35:00 A bio-psycho-social model - many contributing factors to mood.

37:00 MOTHERHOOD neuroscience.

48:45 Wrong assumptions about ‘baby brain’ - no cognitive decline.

55:15 Wrong assumptions about post-partum attachment dynamics.

01:05:15 Post natal depression - Not only due to an estrogen drop.

01:07:45 MENOPAUSE Neuroscience.

01:17:00 Perimenopause - menstrual cycle becomes erratic.

01:27:30 Sex-drive and discomfort after menopause.

01:31:30 HRT - Hormone Replacement Therapy 

01:41:45 Nuance and ‘grey areas’ in a world of click bait.

References:

Sarah McKay The Women’s Brain Book

Sarah McKay "Baby Brain: The Suprising Neuroscience of how Pregnancy and Motherhood Sculpt our Brains and Change Our Minds (for the better)"

The Neuroscience Academy

Dr. Sarah Romans - ‘Mood and the menstrual cycle’ paper.