Case-control study, 2018
Do women with PMS have different brain structures than healthy women?
Yes. Women with PMS had larger brain volumes in two areas and smaller volume in one area compared to healthy controls. However, this is based on a very small study with only 20 women per group.
What they did
Case-control study with 20 women with PMS and 20 healthy controls. All underwent brain MRI scans. Researchers used voxel-based morphometry to compare gray matter volumes and measured how changes related to symptom severity.
What they found
Compared to controls, PMS patients had increased gray matter volume in the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex and thalamus, and decreased volume in the insula. The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex had the strongest ability to distinguish PMS from controls and was associated with symptom severity. Different structural covariance patterns appeared in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, angular gyrus, and hippocampus.
What it means for you
Brain structure differences in PMS may involve regions handling emotion and sensation. The very small sample size (20 per group) and narrow age range significantly limit confidence in these findings. Larger studies are needed to confirm.
20
Participants per group (PMS and control)
2
Brain regions with increased gray matter in PMS
1
Brain region with decreased gray matter in PMS
About the study
- Original title
- Altered brain structure in women with premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Liu P, Wei Y, Fan Y et al.
- Journal
- Journal of affective disorders
- Year
- 2018
- Study design
- Case-control study
- Participants
- 20
- What was tested
- None (observation only).
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.12.075