---
title: Does dopamine control how a hormone changes during sleep in the menstrual cycle?
description: No. A dopamine-blocking drug did not prevent the hormone changes that normally happen during sleep in the early menstrual cycle, so dopamine does not appear t
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effects-of-dopaminergic-blockade-on-the-sleep-associated-changes-of-luteinizing-1988/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Does dopamine control how a hormone changes during sleep in the menstrual cycle?

Randomised trial, 1988

# Does dopamine control how a hormone changes during sleep in the menstrual cycle?

No. A dopamine-blocking drug did not prevent the hormone changes that normally happen during sleep in the early menstrual cycle, so dopamine does not appear to be responsible for this effect.

 Early or limited evidence

11 normal cycling women in the early follicular phase of their cycle

## What they did

11 women in the early follicular phase (days 3 and 4) were studied twice, about 2 weeks apart. Each time they received either saline or metoclopramide (a dopamine-blocking drug) by continuous infusion for 24 hours. Blood samples measuring LH hormone were taken every 15 minutes for 48 hours. Sleep was confirmed by EEG.

## What they found

During saline infusion, sleep was associated with decreases in how often LH pulses occurred (p less than 0.05) and in average LH levels (p less than 0.001), with an increase in pulse amplitude (p less than 0.01). When metoclopramide was given, these sleep-associated changes were not prevented.

## What it means for you

Dopamine does not appear to control how LH pulses change during sleep in the early menstrual cycle. This is basic science research about how hormones work, not a treatment for a condition. The main limitation is the very small sample size of 11 women.

11

women studied

3-4

cycle day studied

15

minutes between blood samples

## About the study

Original title Effects of dopaminergic blockade on the sleep-associated changes of luteinizing hormone pulsatility in early follicular phase women Authors Rossmanith WG, Mortola JF, Yen SS Journal Neuroendocrinology Year 1988 Study design Randomised trial Participants 11 What was tested Metoclopramide (dopamine antagonist) versus saline Read the paper [doi.org/10.1159/000125074](https://doi.org/10.1159/000125074)

## Topics

[Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)

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.

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗