Grey matter followed a different path through menopause than puberty and pregnancy
A comparison of repeated MRI scans found that cortical grey matter declined during puberty and pregnancy but showed no similar loss across the menopausal transition. Comparisons with age-matched controls indicate that the three hormonal periods do not produce one uniform pattern of structural change. The researchers say the menopause result could reflect a temporary slowing of age-related decline, but the mechanism remains open because hormone levels were not measured directly across all cohorts.
Science··Midday
Three transitions were compared with one method
Researchers compared structural brain changes during puberty, pregnancy and menopause within a common analytical framework. Repeated MRI scans from 1,095 participants were assessed alongside age-matched control groups that were not undergoing each hormonal transition. The peer-reviewed Nature Communications paper and ANSA report that cortical grey-matter volume declined during puberty and pregnancy, with some regions following shared patterns while more than half showed different patterns between the two transitions.[1], [2]
Menopause did not show the same loss
The group moving from pre- to post-menopause showed no significant decline in total or cortical grey matter. By contrast, age-related decline continued in control groups whose pre- or post-menopausal status remained stable throughout the study. This difference means menopause was not a third instance of the volume loss seen in puberty and pregnancy. The researchers interpret the result as a possible temporary slowing of age-related decline during the transition, not as direct evidence of a biological mechanism.[1], [2]
Structure changed; function remains unknown
MRI measures changes in brain structure; it does not establish what those changes mean for cognition, mood or health outcomes. The paper also notes that menopausal status was self-reported and that directly comparable hormone measurements were unavailable across all groups. Group sizes were unequal as well. The findings therefore establish a new comparative basis for studying hormonal transitions and brain structure, but they do not by themselves explain the cause or individual consequences of the grey-matter patterns.[1]
