---
title: Can brain stimulation reduce appetite and improve mood in women with PMS?
description: Brain stimulation showed only a possible small effect on wanting low-fat savory foods, with no clear benefits for hunger, mood, or other food preferences. The
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effect-of-transcranial-direct-current-stimulation-on-homeostatic-and-hedonic-2023/
---

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- Can brain stimulation reduce appetite and improve mood in women with PMS?

Survey study, 2023

# Can brain stimulation reduce appetite and improve mood in women with PMS?

Brain stimulation showed only a possible small effect on wanting low-fat savory foods, with no clear benefits for hunger, mood, or other food preferences. The study was too small to draw firm conclusions.

 Early or limited evidence

16 women (average age 26.5 years) with PMS and regular menstrual cycles

## What they did

16 women with PMS received both real and fake brain stimulation to the front of the brain during their luteal and follicular phases (in random order). Before and after each session, they reported their hunger, mood, and food preferences.

## What they found

Real brain stimulation showed a trend toward decreased wanting for low-fat savory food (p = 0.062), meaning the effect was not statistically significant. No significant effects were found for self-reported hunger, desire to eat, energy intake, mood, or preferences for other foods.

## What it means for you

This experiment did not find strong effects of brain stimulation for PMS-related appetite or mood changes. The sample is very small (16 women), so the study has limited power to detect real effects. More research would be needed.

16

Women enrolled

26.5 +/- 5.2

Mean age in years

p = 0.062

P-value for savory food

## About the study

Original title Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on homeostatic and hedonic appetite control and mood states in women presenting premenstrual syndrome across menstrual cycle phases Authors Lima FS, Moreira A, Prado RCR et al. Journal Physiology & behavior Year 2023 Study design Survey study What was tested Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) to the left prefrontal cortex versus sham stimulation Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114075](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114075)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Appetite and food cravings](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-food-cravings/)

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