Researchers have launched a study to investigate women's experiences of changes in memory and concentration across different stages of the menopause.
Volunteers are needed to take part in the study being run by the University of Nottingham's School of Psychology who are investigating hormonal changes and lifestyle patterns and their potential impact on executive function, covering aspects such as attention, memory, and decision-making.
The research team are looking for women aged between 35-65 to take part in the study from across the menopause stages. These stages comprise of women who have not yet started menopause (premenopause), women going through menopause (perimenopause) and finally, women who have gone through the menopause (postmenopause).
Menopause is defined as the permanent end of ovulation and menstrual cycles in women. The transition to menopause can be difficult with many women reporting problematic symptoms such as hot flushes, low concentration, lack of confidence and poor memory.
Some of these issues are attributed to oestrogen which fluctuates and declines during the transition to menopause. Lifestyle factors such as sleep disturbances, increased responsibility at work and multiple caring responsibilities are also common during these stages in a woman's life and could play a role in cognition difficulties.
We know that brain fog and memory issues are becoming more widely recognised as being linked with the menopause, but there is little research into this. We want to investigate women's reported experience of these problems, in addition to their performance on sensitive computerised tests. We aim for our study to enhance understanding in the field of menopause, ultimately contributing to improved support for women.
Participants will have the opportunity to visit the laboratory at the University of Nottingham where they will take part in two surveys and six computer-based tasks to assess menopause symptoms, memory and attention performance, and non-hormonal factors such as,lifestyle, working patterns and caring responsibilities.
