--- title: Does the brain's reward processing work differently in women with PMS? description: Women with PMS showed weaker activity in brain areas that process rewards (the caudate and orbitofrontal cortex) when they experienced gains compared to losse url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/neural-evidence-of-dysfunction-of-reward-processing-in-women-with-premenstrual-2020/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does the brain's reward processing work differently in women with PMS? Survey study, 2020 # Does the brain's reward processing work differently in women with PMS? Women with PMS showed weaker activity in brain areas that process rewards (the caudate and orbitofrontal cortex) when they experienced gains compared to losses. This suggests their brains may process positive emotions differently, though this small study cannot prove this causes PMS. Early or limited evidence 17 women with PMS and 17 healthy women ## What they did Cross-sectional study. Researchers scanned 17 women with PMS and 17 healthy women during a card guessing task in the late luteal phase using functional brain imaging. They analyzed activity in reward-related brain areas and looked for connections between different brain regions. ## What they found Healthy women showed stronger activation in the bilateral caudate and orbitofrontal cortex when gains were compared to losses. Women with PMS showed no significant difference between gains and losses in these areas. Healthy women also showed stronger activation in the right middle frontal gyrus for gains versus losses, but women with PMS did not. Women with PMS had lower functional connectivity between the right caudate and right cerebellum. ## What it means for you The study provides some of the first evidence that PMS may involve changes in how the brain processes rewards and positive emotions, which could explain weakened positive feelings in PMS. The main limits are the very small sample size and that this is a snapshot observation, so we cannot say whether these brain differences cause PMS or result from it. 17 women with PMS scanned 17 healthy women scanned ## About the study Original title Neural evidence of dysfunction of reward processing in women with premenstrual syndrome Authors Hou L, Han ZR, Meng Y et al. Journal Neuropsychologia Year 2020 Study design Survey study What was tested Card guessing task during functional brain imaging Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107669](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107669) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/) 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. ## Related studies Randomised trial, 2026 Does aerobic or resistance exercise reduce anxiety in women with PMS? Cohort study, 2025 How common is PMS in Chinese teenage girls, and what factors are linked to it? Systematic review, 2025 Does alcohol use affect menstrual health in teenage girls? Systematic review, 2025 Does teaching adolescent girls about their menstrual cycle and health help reduce period pain and PMS? Randomised trial, 2024 Does curcumin-piperine combination improve antioxidant activity in women with PMS and period pain? Systematic review, 2024 How common is premenstrual syndrome in Africa, and what factors increase the risk? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗