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Sex and menopause differences in how hippocampal subfield volumes predict spatial source memory at midlife

Poster Session C - Sunday, March 8, 2026, 5:00 – 7:00 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom
Also presenting in Data Blitz Session 2 - Saturday, March 7, 2026, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm PST, Salon D.

Sara Ahmed¹ (), Savannah Tremblay^2,5, Sricharana Rajagopal¹, Julia Kearley³, Rosanna K. Olsen^4,5, M. Natasha Rajah¹; ¹Toronto Metropolitan University, ²University of Toronto, ³McGill University, ⁴Rotman Research Institute, ⁵Baycrest Academy for Research and Education

Midlife is a critical stage in adulthood when age-related episodic memory decline is first detectable. Midlife is also the age that most females experience spontaneous menopause. Age-related episodic memory decline is associated with hippocampal volume reduction. Yet, it remains unclear how age, sex, and menopause jointly shape hippocampal subfield trajectories and their relation to episodic memory at midlife. The present study addressed this gap in a middle-age sample. Using high-resolution T2-weighted MRI, 118 cognitively unimpaired middle-aged adults (35 males, 42 premenopausal females, 41 postmenopausal females; aged 39.55–65.46 years) completed a face-location episodic memory task with correct spatial source accuracy (CS) as the outcome measure. Hippocampal subfields were segmented using a customized-automated pipeline and volumes were adjusted for intracranial volume (ICV). Analysis of variance and regression analyses were used to examine sex and menopause group differences, and age-related differences in CS and subfield volumes, respectively. Preliminary results revealed no significant sex difference in CS or hippocampal subfield volumes, but there were sex and menopause effects on age-related differences in memory and subfield volumes. Compared to other groups, postmenopausal females showed the steepest age-related decline in CA1 and subiculum volumes, CS accuracy, and negative associations between all subfields and memory performance. In contrast, subfield volumes did not predict memory in males or premenopausal females. Thus, menopause is an inflection point in females, when age-related declines in memory and hippocampal volume arise. These results highlight the importance of examining sex and menopause effects in cognitive neuroscience studies of aging and memory.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Development & aging