---
title: Do brain regions connect differently in women with PMS? | Niyora
description: Yes. Women with PMS show different patterns of brain connectivity between the thalamus and the prefrontal cortex compared to women without PMS.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/thalamocortical-dysconnectivity-in-premenstrual-syndrome-2019/
---

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- Do brain regions connect differently in women with PMS?

Case-control study, 2019

# Do brain regions connect differently in women with PMS?

Yes. Women with PMS show different patterns of brain connectivity between the thalamus and the prefrontal cortex compared to women without PMS.

 Early or limited evidence

20 women with PMS and 21 healthy control women

## What they did

Researchers used resting-state brain MRI to measure connectivity between the thalamus and six brain regions in 20 women with PMS and 21 healthy controls. They examined whether brain connectivity matched symptom severity.

## What they found

Women with PMS had weaker connections between the thalamus and prefrontal cortex, and stronger connections between the thalamus and posterior parietal cortex. In women with PMS, weaker prefrontal-thalamic connectivity correlated with more severe symptoms.

## What it means for you

Brain communication patterns may play a role in PMS, which could eventually lead to new treatments. However, the study was very small and cannot prove whether the brain difference causes PMS or results from it.

20

women with PMS

21

healthy control women

## About the study

Original title Thalamocortical dysconnectivity in premenstrual syndrome Authors Liu P, Wei Y, Liao H et al. Journal Brain imaging and behavior Year 2019 Study design Case-control study Participants 20 What was tested No intervention - observational brain imaging study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1007/s11682-018-9894-0](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-018-9894-0)

## Topics

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

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