Case-control study, 2022
Are brain network connections different in women with PMS?
Yes. Women with PMS showed different brain network organization than healthy women, with changes in areas involved in attention and emotion.
What they did
Case-control brain imaging study. 20 women with PMS and 21 healthy controls had MRI scans. Graph theory analysis examined how different brain regions connected with each other.
What they found
Women with PMS had lower small-worldness values (a measure of network efficiency) than healthy controls. Brain changes were mainly in the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and angular gyrus. Abnormal connections involved the thalamus, putamen, and middle cingulate cortex. In the PMS group, symptom severity scores were negatively correlated with local efficiency in the posterior cingulate cortex.
What it means for you
The study shows that brain networks are organized differently in PMS. This could help scientists understand PMS. The study was small and used expensive brain imaging, so results need confirmation.
20
women with PMS
21
healthy controls
About the study
- Original title
- Altered resting-state functional networks in patients with premenstrual syndrome: a graph-theoretical based study
- Authors
- Liu C, Xuan C, Wu J et al.
- Journal
- Brain imaging and behavior
- Year
- 2022
- Study design
- Case-control study
- Participants
- 20
- What was tested
- Brain imaging analysis comparing network organization between PMS patients and controls
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1007/s11682-021-00518-4