How does perimenopause change your brain? | Marija Kundakovic | TEDxFordham University

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Despite making up roughly half the world’s population, women’s health has been drastically understudied—especially the brain and mental health across reproductive stages. This talk explores the critical hormonal changes of perimenopause, the 4–10 years preceding menopause, and how these shifts increase psychiatric risk, including mood disorders, anxiety, and even suicide. Marija Kundakovic presents groundbreaking research using postmortem human brains to map ovarian hormone effects on the brain at cellular and molecular levels. By combining biomarkers from blood, hypothalamus, and pituitary tissues, her team developed a model to determine menopausal status postmortem—paving the way for precision medicine and female-specific psychiatric treatments. This talk highlights the urgent need for education, new science, and actionable solutions to improve women’s mental health. Marija Kundakovic, PharmD, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Fordham University. Her

Tags: Biology, Brain, English, Health, Mental health, Neuroscience, TEDxTalks, Women, [TEDxEID:68198]