Survey study, 2023
Are there differences in brain activity and structure between women with PMS and without?
Yes. Women with PMS showed different brain activity and lower gray matter volume in regions related to emotion, thinking, and movement. This doesn't prove what causes the differences.
What they did
Researchers used MRI brain scans to study 35 women with PMS and 36 women without PMS. They measured how connected different brain regions were and how active they were.
What they found
Women with PMS showed different activity in the middle cingulate cortex, precentral gyrus, striatum, thalamus, and orbitofrontal cortex. They had lower gray matter volume in the caudate region. Brain activity in the thalamus was linked to sleep problems, with higher activity associated with worse sleep.
What it means for you
PMS may involve measurable differences in brain regions that control emotion, movement, and thinking. Sleep problems in PMS might be linked to these brain changes. However, this is a small study that only shows these differences exist in PMS, not whether they cause PMS or result from it.
35
women with PMS scanned
36
healthy controls scanned
About the study
- Original title
- Altered functional connectivity density and structural covariance networks in women with premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Liu C, Duan G, Zhang S et al.
- Journal
- Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery
- Year
- 2023
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 35
- What was tested
- Brain imaging (no intervention tested)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.21037/qims-22-506
Topics
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