---
title: Do PMS, postpartum depression, and menopause share a common cause related to the brain?
description: The hypothesis suggests that when brain estrogen levels fall below a critical threshold, mood and neurological symptoms develop. This could explain why PMS, p
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-female-brain-hypoestrogenic-continuum-from-the-premenstrual-syndrome-to-1996/
---

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- Do PMS, postpartum depression, and menopause share a common cause related to the brain?

Review, 1996

# Do PMS, postpartum depression, and menopause share a common cause related to the brain?

The hypothesis suggests that when brain estrogen levels fall below a critical threshold, mood and neurological symptoms develop. This could explain why PMS, postpartum depression, and menopause involve similar symptoms, though the mechanism remains unproven.

 Early or limited evidence

Women experiencing various reproductive conditions

## What they did

A review article presenting a hypothesis about how the female brain responds to estrogen changes, and evaluating supporting data from existing literature.

## What they found

PMS, postpartum blues, perimenopause, and menopause share common symptoms: depression, sleep disturbance, irritability, anxiety, panic, memory and cognitive dysfunction, and decreased sense of well-being. These same symptoms occur when women are exposed to antiestrogens such as progesterone, progestin, and tamoxifen. The hypothesis proposes that whenever brain estrogen levels fall below the minimum requirement, brain dysfunction may result.

## What it means for you

This proposes a unifying explanation for similar symptoms across different reproductive life stages. The main limitation is that this is a hypothesis based on reviewed literature, not new experimental evidence, so the proposed mechanism remains unproven.

## About the study

Original title The female brain hypoestrogenic continuum from the premenstrual syndrome to menopause. A hypothesis and review of supporting data Authors Arpels JC Journal The Journal of reproductive medicine Year 1996 Study design Review What was tested Literature review and hypothesis development Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8887186/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8887186/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Major depressive disorder](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-major-depression/)[Perimenopause and menopause](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-perimenopause/)[Pregnancy and postpartum](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-postpartum/)

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## Related studies

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