Estrogens, Memory, and Aging: What Hormonal Change Does to the Brain

An informal one hour listening session and Q and A for local women on hormonal transition and what it does to the brain.

Most people think of estrogen as a reproductive hormone, but its influence reaches much further, including into the brain. Estrogens have powerful effects on learning and memory, which raises real questions about what happens as estrogen levels change across a woman's lifespan.

Janine Kwapis, PhD, studies exactly this. Her lab looks at how estradiol, the primary form of estrogen in both humans and mice, shapes the brain's ability to form and update memories. Her research has found that estradiol enhances memory in young adulthood, and that those benefits change as the reproductive system ages. Her team is now working to understand why, and their studies suggest that estradiol changes the way brain cells connect, keeping those cells flexible and dynamic.

The format is deliberately small and conversational.…