---
title: Is brain activity different in women with PMS, particularly in the hippocampus?
description: Women with PMS show increased left hippocampus activity and stronger connections between this region and emotion-processing areas. The connection strength cor
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/hippocampal-fractional-amplitude-of-low-frequency-fluctuation-and-functional-2018/
---

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- Is brain activity different in women with PMS, particularly in the hippocampus?

Cohort study, 2018

# Is brain activity different in women with PMS, particularly in the hippocampus?

Women with PMS show increased left hippocampus activity and stronger connections between this region and emotion-processing areas. The connection strength correlates with symptom severity, suggesting abnormal brain activity may play a role in PMS.

 Early or limited evidence

20 women with PMS and 21 healthy controls

## What they did

Brain imaging study comparing 20 women with PMS to 21 healthy controls during the luteal phase. Participants underwent MRI scans measuring spontaneous activity in the hippocampus (a brain region involved in memory and emotion) and its connections to other brain regions. All women completed a symptom severity questionnaire.

## What they found

Women with PMS had increased activity in the left hippocampus compared to controls (P=0.042). The left hippocampus was more strongly connected to areas involved in emotion processing, decision-making, and motor control. PMS women had weaker connections to the orbitofrontal cortex, an area involved in emotional regulation. The strength of the hippocampus-emotion processing connection was positively correlated with symptom severity (r=0.64, P=0.003).

## What it means for you

Changes in how the hippocampus connects to other brain regions may contribute to PMS symptoms. This is a small study in a single centre, so the findings need to be repeated in larger groups before we can be confident. The study measured one time point during the menstrual cycle, not changes across the cycle.

20

PMS patients scanned

21

healthy controls scanned

0.003

P-value for correlation

## About the study

Original title Hippocampal fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation and functional connectivity changes in premenstrual syndrome Authors Duan G, Liu H, Pang Y et al. Journal Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI Year 2018 Study design Cohort study What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1002/jmri.25775](https://doi.org/10.1002/jmri.25775)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)

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