---
title: How does progesterone dropping affect the brain's anxiety-control system?
description: When progesterone suddenly drops, the brain's anxiety-calming system becomes much less effective. This might explain anxiety symptoms that some women experien
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/gaba-a-receptor-alpha4-subunit-suppression-prevents-withdrawal-properties-of-an-1998/
---

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- How does progesterone dropping affect the brain's anxiety-control system?

Lab study, 1998

# How does progesterone dropping affect the brain's anxiety-control system?

When progesterone suddenly drops, the brain's anxiety-calming system becomes much less effective. This might explain anxiety symptoms that some women experience before their period.

 Early or limited evidence

Female rats

## What they did

Researchers studied female rats to see what happens when progesterone is suddenly withdrawn. They looked at how the brain converts progesterone into a calming chemical and what happens to the brain's anxiety-controlling system when this drops.

## What they found

When progesterone was withdrawn, the rats became more likely to have seizures and the brain's anxiety-calming signal became six times less effective. The brain's anxiety-control system changed in a way that made it less able to calm anxiety. Blocking a specific gene that controls this system prevented the problem.

## What it means for you

PMS anxiety might be caused by how the brain's anxiety-control system changes when progesterone drops sharply. This is rat research, so we don't yet know if it works the same way in humans.

6-fold

Decrease in brain anxiety-calming signal strength

## About the study

Original title GABA(A) receptor alpha4 subunit suppression prevents withdrawal properties of an endogenous steroid Authors Smith SS, Gong QH, Hsu FC et al. Journal Nature Year 1998 Study design Lab study What was tested Sudden withdrawal of progesterone Read the paper [doi.org/10.1038/31948](https://doi.org/10.1038/31948)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Anxiolytics and other psychotropics](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-anxiolytics/)[Pregnancy and postpartum](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-postpartum/)[Epilepsy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-epilepsy/)

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## Related studies

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Does allopregnanolone, a progesterone metabolite, cause mood problems in PMDD?

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Could antidepressants help prevent PMS by keeping brain chemicals stable?

Survey study, 2011

Why do some women experience negative mood with hormone changes?

Cohort study, 2010

How do anxiety disorders differ across different life stages?

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