Study, 2010
Does your brain respond differently to upsetting images depending on your menstrual cycle phase?
Yes. Women showed significantly stronger brain activation in areas involved in emotion and memory (amygdala and hippocampus) during the luteal phase compared to the follicular phase when viewing upsetting images.
What they did
Seventeen women had brain scans during two menstrual phases (early follicular and mid-luteal) while looking at upsetting images.
What they found
The hippocampus and amygdala showed significantly greater activity during mid-luteal scans compared to early follicular scans, suggesting that progesterone effects dominate during the luteal phase in response to negative images.
What it means for you
Higher progesterone during the luteal phase may amplify your brain's emotional response to upsetting situations. This is a small study with only two brain scans per woman, so the findings need confirmation in larger studies.
17
women scanned
About the study
- Original title
- Menstrual cycle modulation of medial temporal activity evoked by negative emotion
- Authors
- Andreano JM, Cahill L
- Journal
- NeuroImage
- Year
- 2010
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 17
- What was tested
- Viewing upsetting images during brain scans
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.07.011