The Alzheimer's Prevention Plan for Women: Hormones, Sleep, and Nutrition with Dr. Lisa Mosconi

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Mar 17, 2026

Dr. Lisa Mosconi, neuroscientist and director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Weill Cornell, focuses on women’s brain health and menopause. She discusses why menopause matters for the brain. They cover brain fog and energy changes, the role of sleep in brain clearance, exercise’s protective effects, nutrition and supplements, and the evidence gaps around hormone therapy.

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ANECDOTE

Family Pattern Of Dementia Sparked A Career

Mosconi describes three sisters in her family who developed dementia while their brother did not, sparking her research into female vulnerability.
That familial pattern drove her to study genetics, lifestyle and prevention strategies.

INSIGHT

Brain Fog Reflects Energy Failure In Memory Regions

Brain fog in midlife is cognitive fatigue linked to reduced ATP production in memory regions rather than simple forgetfulness.
Mosconi measured increased phosphocreatine/ATP ratio and suppressed ATP in Alzheimer-affected regions during menopausal brain fog.

INSIGHT

Menopause Remodels Specific Brain Circuits

Estrogen receptors cluster in hippocampus, amygdala, frontal cortex and brainstem, so menopause remodels memory, emotion, reasoning and sleep circuits.
Loss or fluctuation of estrogen disrupts hippocampal activation, amygdala regulation and frontal inhibition explaining memory lapses and rage.

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In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Lisa Mosconi, a neuroscientist and associate professor of neuroscience in neurology and radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Mosconi directs the Alzheimer's Prevention Program, including the NIH-funded Women's Brain Initiative and the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic, and was recently named director of the $50 million Program in Women's Health, Cutting Alzheimer's Risk Through Endocrinology. She is also the author of the bestselling book The Menopause Brain.

This conversation is about prevention. Dr. Mosconi has spent decades building the science that shows Alzheimer's risk in women is neither inevitable nor untreatable and that the choices women make in midlife around hormones, sleep, and nutrition have a direct, and measurable, impact on the brain's long-term health. Together, they explore why two thirds of all Alzheimer's patients are women and what role menopause plays in that disparity. Dr. Mosconi explains the difference between the rare genetic mutations that directly cause Alzheimer's, found in roughly 2% of patients, and the risk factors that shape outcomes for the other 98%, including the distinction between early and late onset disease and between sporadic and familial Alzheimer's. Both share their own family histories with dementia and what that means for their personal risk.

Guest links:

Lisa Mosconi

Lisa Mosconi (Instagram)

Lisa Mosconi (Facebook)

Lisa Mosconi Bio (LEAP)

Books:

“The Menopause Brain: New Science Empowers Women to Navigate the Pivotal Transition with Knowledge and Confidence,” by Lisa Mosconi

“The XX Brain: The Groundbreaking Science Empowering Women to Maximize Cognitive Health and Prevent Alzheimer's Disease,” by Lisa Mosconi
“Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power,” by Lisa Mosconi

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