NIH ROSA SCORE: Clinical Science

Vasomotor symptoms (VMS) affect up to 85% of menopausal women and are strongly linked with increased frequency and duration of nighttime awakenings (i.e., sleep fragmentation), during which women are exposed to artificial light at night that can further disrupt sleep and promote adverse health effects. Determining modifiable factors that can reduce sleep fragmentation in women with VMS, such as nighttime light exposure, will have significant public health impact because VMS-related sleep fragmentation is common and is associated with negative health outcomes that increase susceptibility to dementia in aging women. As part of the Brigham/Harvard SCORE Center for Stress and Neural Regulation of Reproductive Aging Health Outcomes, called the Reproductive Outcomes of Stress and Aging (ROSA) Center, this study will advance the health of midlife women by determining the causal impacts of VMS-precipitated exposure to artificial light at night on sleep and neuropsychological health, including cognition.

This clinical research study aims to advance the health of postmenopausal women by studying how the brain and body respond to stress in women with and without vasomotor symptoms (VMS; hot flashes, night sweats). By framing VMS as a chronic stress condition, investigators can assess if differences in how the brain and body function reflect a mechanism through which stress influences VMS. Investigators will answer these questions in a longitudinal study assessing individual responses to a mild stressor and using state-of-the-art functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS).