• By Gretchen Reynolds   New York times

  Oct. 20, 2021

“…the findings may open intriguing avenues of inquiry into why women so often become inactive after menopause, when estrogen fades. The results also underscore how the brain and internal biological processes work together to play an unexpected and substantial role in whether the body gets up and moves or remains mostly still.”

“The study also raises the intriguing possibility that the “timing of exercise, to have its most beneficial impact for women, might be fine-tuned by considering the changing hormonal milieu,” including the hormonal changes of menopause, said Dr. Tamas Horvath, a professor of neuroscience and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the Yale School of Medicine and chairman of the school’s department of comparative medicine.

“Of course, all these observations in mice need to be confirmed to operate in us, humans,” said Dr. Horvath, who was not involved in the current research. “However, the fact that this mechanism is found in an ancient part of the brain suggests that it will be applicable for most mammals, including humans.”