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Episodic memory at midlife: The influence of peri-menopause

Poster Session F - Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Millie R. Bhaskara¹ (), Sricharana Rajagopal¹, Julia Kearley², M. Natasha Rajah^1,2; ¹Toronto Metropolitan University, ²McGill University

Midlife (40-65 years of age) represents a critical period at which episodic memory begins to decline and female adults with ovaries undergo the transition from the pre-menopausal phase of reproductive aging to peri- and post-menopause. Previous studies have demonstrated reduced spatial context episodic memory performance in post-menopausal compared to pre-menopausal adults. However, there is little research examining differences in memory performance between pre-menopause and the transitional peri-menopause phase, despite greater report of subjective cognitive complaints during this phase. The current study aimed to address this literature gap, as well as examine whether chronological age within menopause group influences episodic memory performance. Middle-aged, pre- (N = 42; mean age = 44.72) and peri-menopausal participants (N = 33; mean age = 50.85) completed eight runs of a spatial context memory task, in which they were asked to remember the spatial locations of sequentially-presented face stimuli (one of four quadrants on a computer screen). Participants were later asked to recall the spatial locations of both previously seen (source memory) and novel faces (novelty detection). Outcome variables included response accuracy, reaction time, and intra-individual variability in these measures across task runs. Linear mixed-effects analyses demonstrated group differences in performance, such that peri-menopausal participants made slower and less accurate source memory responses compared to pre-menopausal participants. These findings suggest that episodic memory decline may arise as early as peri-menopause. Age more often predicted performance in pre-menopausal compared to peri-menopausal participants, suggesting that there may be other factors that drive changes in episodic memory during peri-menopause.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic