Case-control study, 2013
Is brain reactivity to emotional stimuli different during the menstrual cycle in women with PMDD?
Yes. During the luteal phase, women with PMDD show heightened brain activity when anticipating negative emotional stimuli, but this heightened activity does not occur when they are actually viewing the stimuli.
What they did
Case-control fMRI study. Women with PMDD and healthy controls had brain imaging while anticipating and viewing emotional stimuli during different phases of their menstrual cycle.
What they found
During the luteal phase, women with PMDD had significantly enhanced prefrontal cortex reactivity during anticipation of negative emotional stimuli compared to controls. Reactivity did not differ during actual exposure to stimuli. Progesterone levels were positively correlated with prefrontal reactivity to positive emotional stimuli in PMDD patients.
What it means for you
The brain's emotional processing circuits react more strongly to the anticipation of negative events in women with PMDD during the luteal phase, which may explain difficulty with emotional control and anxiety. Sample size was not reported in the abstract.
5%
prevalence of PMDD in women of childbearing age
About the study
- Original title
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder and prefrontal reactivity during anticipation of emotional stimuli
- Authors
- Gingnell M, Bannbers E, Wikström J et al.
- Journal
- European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
- Year
- 2013
- Study design
- Case-control study
- What was tested
- Emotion anticipation task during brain imaging
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2013.08.002
Topics
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