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.
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