#73 Mysteries of the Female Brain: The Pill, Attraction, Sex, Emotions & Hormones! Dr Sarah McKay

Dr. Sarah McKay is a neuroscientist, author, and science
communicator whose work is redefining what we know about women’s
brains — from hormones and birth control to motherhood and mental
health. She’s the author of The Women’s Brain Book, Baby Brain,
and Brain Health for Dummies, and host of ABC’s Catalyst, where
she brings neuroscience to life on screen.Check Out Sarahs Books
The Women's Brain Book: The neuroscience of health, hormones and
happiness: https://amzn.to/3LiixYNBaby Brain: The surprising
neuroscience of how pregnancy and motherhood sculpt our brains
and change our minds: https://amzn.to/47SIG9fBrain Health For
Dummies: https://amzn.to/47C70uCSarah has spent her career
debunking the myths that hormones “run the show,” revealing
instead how the female brain is adaptable, resilient, and
constantly changing through puberty, pregnancy, and
menopause.Expect to learn how the pill reshapes the brain and
influences attraction, why mood changes during the menstrual
cycle are far more complex than we think, how pregnancy and
motherhood physically rewire neural circuits for empathy and
care, why “baby brain” might actually be a superpower, how men’s
hormones change after fatherhood, how AI is helping scientists
uncover hidden “pregnancy signatures” in the brain, and what
neuroscience gets wrong — and right — about women.Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction – What Men Don’t Know About Women’s
Brains03:14 Myths About Hormones and Emotion08:29 How Scientists
Actually Measure Emotion12:26 The Constructed Nature of
Feelings17:05 PMS, Expectation, and the Power of Belief20:18 How
the Pill Changes the Brain26:20 The Pill, Mood, and Depression
Risk33:35 Attraction, Personality, and the Hormone Myth39:04 Are
We Rewiring Evolution Through the Pill?44:02 Maternal Instinct
and the Neuroscience of Motherhood52:16 How Pregnancy Rewires the
Brain57:26 AI, Plasticity, and the “Pregnancy Signature”01:03:26
What Happens to the Father’s Brain01:08:03 The Future of Women’s
Brain Health...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the
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https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused
Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial:
https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI:
https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience
Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify -
https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple
Podcasts -
https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249