--- title: Do women with PMDD have different brain responses to emotions? description: Yes. Women with PMDD showed different patterns of brain activation when processing anger and sadness, and reported more difficulty recognizing emotions. We ca url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/brain-reactivity-to-emotional-stimuli-in-women-with-premenstrual-dysphoric-2021/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do women with PMDD have different brain responses to emotions? Case-control study, 2021 # Do women with PMDD have different brain responses to emotions? Yes. Women with PMDD showed different patterns of brain activation when processing anger and sadness, and reported more difficulty recognizing emotions. We can be fairly confident because the study was carefully designed, but findings come from brain imaging which requires interpretation. Moderate study design 86 women (42 with PMDD, 44 healthy controls) assessed during the luteal phase ## What they did 86 women (42 with PMDD, 44 healthy) were divided into groups and shown images designed to trigger anger or sadness during the luteal phase of their cycle. Brain scans measured their brain activity before and after. They also completed personality and mood questionnaires. ## What they found Women with PMDD had significantly higher difficulty identifying and understanding their emotions (p<0.001). They also scored higher on neuroticism and lower on traits like extraversion and social adaptability. Brain scans revealed different patterns of activity in multiple regions related to emotion control in both the anger and sadness tasks. ## What it means for you Women with PMDD may have underlying brain differences that affect how they process and manage emotions, which could explain why mood changes are so intense. The study only looked at one cycle phase, so we don't know if these brain differences are always present or specific to certain times of the cycle. 42 women with PMDD p<0.001 significance of emotion recognition difficulty 86 total participants ## About the study Original title Brain reactivity to emotional stimuli in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder and related personality characteristics Authors Gao M, Qiao M, An L et al. Journal Aging Year 2021 Study design Case-control study What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.18632/aging.203363](https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.203363) Original abstract Aims: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a psychiatric condition that is associated with the menstrual cycle. Elucidation of the neural regulation mechanisms of brain reactivity to emotional stimuli among women with PMDD may inform PMDD treatment. Methods: Eighty-six women (42 PMDD, 44 healthy controls) were allocated into two groups (anger-induced group: 23 PMDD vs. 23 controls; depression-induced group: 19 PMDD vs. 21 controls). During the luteal phases of the menstrual cycle, all the women were subjected to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). fMRI resting-state scans were performed before and after the study participants had performed an emotional stimuli task. After the emotional stimuli task, emotional status of the participants were evaluated by Self-Rating Depression Scales (SDS) and Trait Anger Expression Inventory-II (STAXI-II). In addition, all the participants were requested to complete the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and the Twenty-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Results: Compared to healthy controls, all women with PMDD exhibited significantly high scores in Tas-20 (p<0.001), higher neuroticism and psychoticism scores as well as significantly low extraversion and social desirability scores (p<0.05). Compared to the controls, f-MRI revealed that PMDD women had elevated ReHo in the middle frontal gyrus (BA10), temporal lobe (BA42), left cerebellum (BA37), as well as decreased activation in the precuneus (BA7), superior frontal gyrus (BA8), lobulus paracentralis (BA6), and right cerebellum (BA48) (p<0.05). Moreover, depression stimuli showed that women with PMDD had elevated ReHo levels in the middle frontal gyrus (BA11), the middle gyrus (BA47) and in the cingulate gyrus (BA23) vs. healthy controls (p<0.05). Conclusions: Women with more neuroticism and psychoticism, less extraversion and social desirability tend to report PMDD symptoms. Women with this condition experience difficulties in regulating emotions during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Abnormal ReHo levels in the precuneus, superior frontal gyrus, lobulus paracentralis, and right cerebellum may contribute to anger dysregulation. Hypoactivation in the middle frontal gyrus, the middle gyrus and the cingulate gyrus may be generally associated with depression dysregulation in PMDD. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[Schizophrenia and psychosis](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-psychosis/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Interview study, 2000 Are depression and personality disorders linked to PMDD? Randomised trial, 2023 What does research show about PMDD neurochemistry? Survey study, 2001 How common is premenstrual dysphoric disorder and how is it related to other psychiatric conditions? Randomised trial, 2025 Does taking an antidepressant only during the second half of your cycle reduce anger and aggression in PMDD? Randomised trial, 2021 Does ulipristal acetate (a progesterone blocker) treat PMDD? Randomised trial, 1998 Is intermittent citalopram during the luteal phase more effective than continuous dosing? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗