Unlocking the Menopausal Mind: The Surprising Science Behind Mood Swings and Mental Clarity at Midlife
Hot flashes and brain lesions
In one study, researchers asked 226 women to wear monitors that tracked when they were experiencing a hot flash. The women also underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), filled out sleep diaries, and wore smartwatches that recorded how often they woke at night.9
As researchers looked at the brain images obtained from women who experienced the most hot flashes, they noticed an abundance of patchy areas called whole-brain white matter intensities.
These lesions were once thought of as a typical consequence of aging. However, neuroscientists now believe that the presence of whole-brain white matter intensities is predictive of future cognitive decline.
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