Review, 2014
Why do some women get mood problems during their menstrual cycle and after having a baby?
According to laboratory research, women's brains change how they regulate a calming brain chemical during hormonal changes. When the brain cannot adapt properly, mood disorders like PMS, PMDD, and postpartum depression may develop.
What they did
Reviewed scientific literature on how ovarian hormones affect GABA receptors in the brain, which regulate mood and calmness. Focused on changes during the menstrual cycle, puberty, pregnancy, and after birth.
What they found
Brain cells change the types of GABA receptors they express during the menstrual cycle, at puberty, throughout pregnancy, and after birth. When the brain fails to properly regulate a specific type of GABA receptor during pregnancy and after birth, depression-like behavior appears. The brain normally adapts to changing hormone levels to keep inhibition at a healthy level.
What it means for you
This is a theory of why PMS, PMDD, and postpartum depression happen: the brain's adaptation to hormone changes can fail. This is laboratory and animal research, not human studies, so it explains a possible biological mechanism but doesn't prove it causes these conditions in real women. More human research is needed.
About the study
- Original title
- The role of ovarian hormone-derived neurosteroids on the regulation of GABAA receptors in affective disorders
- Authors
- MacKenzie G, Maguire J
- Journal
- Psychopharmacology
- Year
- 2014
- Study design
- Review
- What was tested
- None
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1007/s00213-013-3423-z
Topics
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