The Menopause Brain with Dr Sophie Behrman
From Conversations with Annalisa Barbieri by Annalisa Barbieri
February 12, 2026 · 41 min · Season 11 · Episode 6
About this episode
This episode discusses the effects of menopause on the brain with Dr. Sophie Behrman, exploring hormonal changes and mental health implications.
I’m very pleased to see the menopause is being discussed more that it ever was. It does, after all, potentially affect a great many of us: directly and by proxy. About fifteen years ago, I wanted to write an article for the Guardian about it but kept hitting not so much brick walls as cul de sacs. The questions I was asking kept coming back with “we don’t really know” answers. As you’ll see from this podcast there are still a lot of unknowns. But what I do talk about in this episode on the Menopause brain with Dr Sophie Behrman is about what we do know is happening in the brain: the rewiring that goes on that can make women feel unsure and anxious, the effects of dropping levels of hormones and the subsequent effect on the GABA and glutamate system of the brain. Sophie is a general adult psychiatrist who works in a community mental health team in Oxford and has set up an NHS menopause and menstrual disorders clinic, open to women who fit a certain criteria. Sophie is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Menopause Working party and is currently doing research into suicidality and the perimenopause. She’s also edited a book for the Royal College of Psychiatrists called…
People in this episode
Host: Annalisa Barbieri
Guest: Dr Sophie Behrman
Topics covered
- menopause
- mental health
- hormones
- psychiatry
- women's health
Keywords
- menopause
- brain
- hormones
- anxiety
- mental health
- GABA
- glutamate
- perimenopause
- psychiatry
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Royal College of Psychiatrists, Cambridge University Press, NHS
Books & works: Menopause, Menstrual Cycles and Mental Health
Places: Oxford
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