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Monteiro DC, Ramos CDS, Alves LENN, Cantilino A, Sougey EB. Functional and structural neuroimaging in premenstrual dysphoric disorder: A systematic review. J Psychiatr Res 2024; 175:205-210. [PMID: 38744159 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.05.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
This systematic review aimed to summarize the most recent data on changes in brain structure and function in premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) as well as elucidate the possible correlations between these findings and symptom severity. Articles published in PubMed, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and Scopus from inception until April 2023 were systematically reviewed according to the PICO framework: population (women with PMDD), intervention (neuroimaging study), control (healthy subjects), and outcome (neuroimaging changes). In total, 1026 individuals were included from controlled (n = 22) and non-controlled (n = 2) trials. Among them, 608 had PMDD, and 418 were healthy controls. Different neuroimaging methods were addressed, such as task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), resting-state functional MRI, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, diffusion tensor imaging, proton emission tomography, and structural MRI. Despite the absence of consensual results, several brain structures have been implicated in PMDD, including the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, insula, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. In addition, some brain changes are related to the intensity of symptoms and phases of the menstrual cycle, such as the correlation between depressive symptoms and increased serotonin transporter binding potential in the midbrain during the luteal phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennison Carreiro Monteiro
- Postgraduate Program in Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; Department of Neuropsychiatry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
| | - Clarence da Silva Ramos
- Postgraduate Program in Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | | | - Amaury Cantilino
- Postgraduate Program in Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Everton Botelho Sougey
- Postgraduate Program in Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; Department of Neuropsychiatry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
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Persaud P, Belfry GR, Heath M. Menstrual cycle status does not impact exercise-based changes in cerebral blood flow or executive function benefits. J Sports Sci 2024; 42:1061-1071. [PMID: 39052669 DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2024.2382566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024]
Abstract
A single bout of exercise enhances executive function (EF) and may relate to an increase in cerebral blood flow (CBF). A limitation in the current literature is that biologically female participants are underrepresented given some evidence that changes in hormone levels across the menstrual cycle impact physiological and psychological variables. Here, biologically female participants completed separate single bouts of moderate intensity exercise (80% of estimated lactate threshold) during the follicular (FOL) and luteal (LUT) phases of their menstrual cycle. In addition, biologically male participants completed a same duration/intensity exercise session. Middle cerebral artery velocity (MCAv) was used to estimate CBF and pre- and postexercise EF was assessed via the antisaccade task. Results showed that resting MCAv was larger in the LUT than FOL phase; however, the exercise-mediated increase in MCAv was equivalent between menstrual cycle phases, and between female and male participants. Antisaccade reaction times reliably decreased from pre- to postexercise and frequentist and non-frequentist statistics demonstrated that the magnitude of the decrease was equivalent across FOL and LUT phases, and between female and male participants. Thus, results evince that menstrual cycle status should not serve as a basis limiting biologically female participants' inclusion in research examining exercise and EF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priyanka Persaud
- School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Glen R Belfry
- School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Matthew Heath
- School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
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3
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Moser JS, Munia TTK, Louis CC, Anderson GE, Aviyente S. Errors elicit frontoparietal theta-gamma coupling that is modulated by endogenous estradiol levels. Int J Psychophysiol 2024; 197:112299. [PMID: 38215947 PMCID: PMC10922427 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2024.112299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
Cognitive control-related error monitoring is intimately involved in behavioral adaptation, learning, and individual differences in a variety of psychological traits and disorders. Accumulating evidence suggests that a focus on women's health and ovarian hormones is critical to the study of such cognitive brain functions. Here we sought to identify a novel index of error monitoring using a time-frequency based phase amplitude coupling (t-f PAC) measure and examine its modulation by endogenous levels of estradiol in females. Forty-three healthy, naturally cycling young adult females completed a flanker task while continuous electroencephalogram was recorded on four occasions across the menstrual cycle. Results revealed significant error-related t-f PAC between theta phase generated in fronto-central areas and gamma amplitude generated in parietal-occipital areas. Moreover, this error-related theta-gamma coupling was enhanced by endogenous levels of estradiol both within females across the cycle as well as between females with higher levels of average circulating estradiol. While the role of frontal midline theta in error processing is well documented, this paper extends the extant literature by illustrating that error monitoring involves the coordination between multiple distributed systems with the slow midline theta activity modulating the power of gamma-band oscillatory activity in parietal regions. They further show enhancement of inter-regional coupling by endogenous estradiol levels, consistent with research indicating modulation of cognitive control neural functions by the endocrine system in females. Together, this work identifies a novel neurophysiological marker of cognitive control-related error monitoring in females that has implications for neuroscience and women's health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason S Moser
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, United States of America.
| | - Tamanna T K Munia
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, United States of America
| | - Courtney C Louis
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, United States of America
| | - Grace E Anderson
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, United States of America
| | - Selin Aviyente
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, United States of America
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Hamidovic A, Smadi S, Davis J. Late Luteal Subphase Food Craving Is Enhanced in Women with Obesity and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). Nutrients 2023; 15:5000. [PMID: 38068858 PMCID: PMC10707764 DOI: 10.3390/nu15235000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Dysregulated food craving is a complex weight-related behavior. To identify novel targets for enhancing the efficacy of weight loss interventions, we examined whether food craving varies across the menstrual cycle according to the abdominal obesity type and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) diagnosis, and, if so, whether it is related to affective symptomatology. Reproductive-age women were classified into one of the four study groups according to whether they have abdominal obesity (AO) or are abdominally lean (AL), and the presence of PMDD: (1) AO:PMDD+ (n = 13), (2) AL:PMDD+ (n = 14), (3) AO:PMDD- (n = 15), and (4) AL:PMDD- (n = 16). Self-report measures as well as urinary luteinizing hormone (LH) tests were provided by the participants across 2-3 menstrual cycles. The ratings of food cravings were similar across the menstrual cycle, except the last, late luteal subphase as the AO:PMDD+ participants had the highest food craving rating. Irritability and depression were correlated with food cravings, but not in a distinctive manner across the menstrual cycle by group. Our study found that women with abdominal obesity and PMDD display a temporal vulnerability to a food-related behavior. The possibility of shared neurobiology between the two conditions is discussed and should be examined in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajna Hamidovic
- Department of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Shahd Smadi
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA; (S.S.); (J.D.)
| | - John Davis
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA; (S.S.); (J.D.)
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Naik SS, Nidhi Y, Kumar K, Grover S. Diagnostic validity of premenstrual dysphoric disorder: revisited. Front Glob Womens Health 2023; 4:1181583. [PMID: 38090047 PMCID: PMC10711063 DOI: 10.3389/fgwh.2023.1181583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2024] Open
Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) and American Psychiatric Association (APA) have recognised premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) as an independent diagnostic entity, legitimising the distress and socio-occupational impairment experienced by affected women. However, the biological validity of this diagnosis remains inexplicit. This illness has also been criticised for a feminist-led, sympathetic reaction to the modern cultural challenges of urban, literate, employed, high-functioning women. This article systematically reviews existing literature on PMDD using the criteria established by Robins and Guze for the validity of a psychiatric diagnosis (clinical description, laboratory study, exclusion of other disorders, follow-up study, and family study). Despite the early recognition of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) in the 1950s, the research has encountered challenges due to two groups of proponents viewing it with psychologising bias and medicalising bias. PMDD is currently understood as the most severe form of PMS, characterised by the presence of psychological features. Recent evidence suggests that PMDD perhaps has neurodevelopmental underpinnings (attention deficit hyperactive disorder, adverse childhood experiences) affecting the fronto-limbic circuit that regulates the emotions. In addition, the affected individuals exhibit an increased sensitivity to gonadal hormonal fluctuations as observed during premenstrual, pregnancy, and perimenopausal phases of life. The prevalence is comparable between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries (LAMIC), refuting the notion that it mostly affects modern women. Instead, a greater prevalence is observed in LAMIC. Despite the fact that educated women possess knowledge regarding the importance of getting help, there is a prevalent issue of inadequate help-seeking behaviour. This can be attributed to the perception of seeking help as an isolating experience, which is influenced by profound internalised stigma and discrimination in the workplace. Future studies must aim to develop culturally validated assessment tools and more research to understand the life course of the illness, in addition to systematically examining for more biological validators (animal models, genetics, imaging, neurotransmitters).
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Reuveni I, Dan R, Canetti L, Bick AS, Segman R, Azoulay M, Kalla C, Bonne O, Goelman G. Aberrant Intrinsic Brain Network Functional Connectivity During a Face-Matching Task in Women Diagnosed With Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 94:492-500. [PMID: 37031779 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 03/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is characterized by affective, cognitive, and physical symptoms, suggesting alterations at the brain network level. Women with PMDD demonstrate aberrant discrimination of facial emotions during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and altered reactivity to emotional stimuli. However, previous studies assessing emotional task-related brain reactivity using region-of-interest or whole-brain analysis have reported conflicting findings. Therefore, we utilized both region-of-interest task-reactivity and seed-voxel functional connectivity (FC) approaches to test for differences in the default mode network, salience network, and central executive network between women with PMDD and control participants during an emotional-processing task that yields an optimal setup for investigating brain network changes in PMDD. METHODS Twenty-four women with PMDD and 27 control participants were classified according to the Daily Record of Severity of Problems. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scans while completing the emotional face-matching task during the midfollicular and late-luteal phases of their menstrual cycle. RESULTS No significant between-group differences in brain reactivity were found using region-of-interest analysis. In the FC analysis, a main effect of diagnosis was found showing decreased default mode network connectivity, increased salience network connectivity, and decreased central executive network connectivity in women with PMDD compared with control participants. A significant interaction between menstrual cycle phase and diagnosis was found in the central executive network for right posterior parietal cortex and left inferior lateral occipital cortex connectivity. A post hoc analysis revealed stronger FC during the midfollicular than the late-luteal phase of PMDD. CONCLUSIONS Aberrant FC in the 3 brain networks involved in PMDD may indicate vulnerability to experience affective and cognitive symptoms of the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inbal Reuveni
- Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Rotem Dan
- Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Neurology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Laura Canetti
- Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Atira S Bick
- Department of Neurology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ronen Segman
- Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Moria Azoulay
- Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Carmel Kalla
- Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Omer Bonne
- Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Gadi Goelman
- Department of Neurology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
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Stiernman L, Dubol M, Comasco E, Sundström-Poromaa I, Boraxbekk CJ, Johansson M, Bixo M. Emotion-induced brain activation across the menstrual cycle in individuals with premenstrual dysphoric disorder and associations to serum levels of progesterone-derived neurosteroids. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:124. [PMID: 37055419 PMCID: PMC10101953 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02424-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a debilitating disorder characterized by severe mood symptoms in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. PMDD symptoms are hypothesized to be linked to an altered sensitivity to normal luteal phase levels of allopregnanolone (ALLO), a GABAA-modulating progesterone metabolite. Moreover, the endogenous 3β-epimer of ALLO, isoallopregnanolone (ISO), has been shown to alleviate PMDD symptoms through its selective and dose-dependent antagonism of the ALLO effect. There is preliminary evidence showing altered recruitment of brain regions during emotion processing in PMDD, but whether this is associated to serum levels of ALLO, ISO or their relative concentration is unknown. In the present study, subjects with PMDD and asymptomatic controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the mid-follicular and the late-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Brain responses to emotional stimuli were investigated and related to serum levels of ovarian steroids, the neurosteroids ALLO, ISO, and their ratio ISO/ALLO. Participants with PMDD exhibited greater activity in brain regions which are part of emotion-processing networks during the late-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Furthermore, activity in key regions of emotion processing networks - the parahippocampal gyrus and amygdala - was differentially associated to the ratio of ISO/ALLO levels in PMDD subjects and controls. Specifically, a positive relationship between ISO/ALLO levels and brain activity was found in PMDD subjects, while the opposite was observed in controls. In conclusion, individuals with PMDD show altered emotion-induced brain responses in the late-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle which may be related to an abnormal response to physiological levels of GABAA-active neurosteroids.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Manon Dubol
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Erika Comasco
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Carl-Johan Boraxbekk
- Department of Radiation Sciences, Diagnostic Radiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Institute for Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance (DRCMR), Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Institute of Sports Medicine Copenhagen (ISMC) and Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Maja Johansson
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Marie Bixo
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
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Yen JY, Lin PC, Hsu CJ, Lin C, Chen IJ, Ko CH. Attention, response inhibition, impulsivity, and decision-making within luteal phase in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Arch Womens Ment Health 2023; 26:321-330. [PMID: 37010619 DOI: 10.1007/s00737-023-01311-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive impairment is a key feature of depressive disorder. Various forms of cognitive function have yet to be investigated in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) during early luteal (EL) and late luteal (LL) phases. Therefore, we evaluated response inhibition and attention in PMDD in these two phases. We also examined the associations between cognitive functions, impulsivity, decision-making style, and irritability. There is a total of 63 female participants with PMDD and 53 controls, as determined through psychiatric diagnostic interviewing and a weekly symptoms checklist. The participants completed a Go/No-go task, Dickman's impulsivity inventory, Preference for Intuition and Deliberation scale, and the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory: Chinese Version-Short Form at the EL and LL phases. The women with PMDD had poorer attention in the Go trials at the LL phase and poorer response inhibition in the No-go trials at the EL and LL phases. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed an LL exacerbation of deficit in attention among PMDD group. In addition, impulsivity negatively correlated with response inhibition at the LL phase. Preference for deliberation correlated with attention at the LL phase. Women with PMDD experienced LL declined attention and impaired response inhibition across the luteal phase. Response inhibition is linked to impulsivity. The deficit in attention links preference for deliberation among women with PMDD. These results reveal the different courses in different domains of cognitive impairment in PMDD. Further studies are required to elucidate the mechanism underlying cognitive dysfunction in PMDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ju-Yu Yen
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Pai-Cheng Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Jung Hsu
- Department of Nursing, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Chi Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
| | - I-Ju Chen
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Hung Ko
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, No. 482, Shanming Rd, Siaogang District, Kaohsiung City, 812, Taiwan.
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Conelea CA, Morris S, McLaughlin N, Mamaril E, Benito K, Case B, Garcia A. Response Inhibition in Youth Undergoing Intensive Treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. J Obsessive Compuls Relat Disord 2023; 36:100764. [PMID: 36644665 PMCID: PMC9835685 DOI: 10.1016/j.jocrd.2022.100764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Response Inhibition (RI) is the ability to suppress behaviors that are inappropriate for a given context. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been associated with impaired RI in adults as measured by the Stop Signal Task (SST). Conflicting results have been found in terms of the relationship between OCD severity and SST performance, and no studies to date have examined the relationship between SST and response to OCD treatment. Also relatively unknown is whether RI performance in OCD is associated with developmental or gender differences. This naturalistic study examined the relationship between SST performance, OCD severity, and OCD treatment response in a pediatric sample undergoing intensive treatment involving exposure and response prevention and medication management (n = 36). The SST and Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CYBOCS) were administered at admission and program discharge. OCD severity was not significantly related to stop signal reaction time (SSRT) in the whole sample and among subgroups divided by age and gender. Baseline SSRT and SSRT change did not predict CYBOCS change across treatment in the whole sample, but exploratory analyses indicated both were significant predictors among female adolescents. Results suggest there may be developmental gender differences in the relationship between RI and clinical improvement in pediatric OCD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine A. Conelea
- University of Minnesota, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Sarah Morris
- Bradley Hospital, Pediatric Anxiety Research Center, East Providence, RI, USA
- Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Nicole McLaughlin
- Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Providence, RI, USA
- Butler Hospital, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Erin Mamaril
- Bradley Hospital, Pediatric Anxiety Research Center, East Providence, RI, USA
| | - Kristen Benito
- Bradley Hospital, Pediatric Anxiety Research Center, East Providence, RI, USA
- Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Brady Case
- Bradley Hospital, Pediatric Anxiety Research Center, East Providence, RI, USA
- Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Abbe Garcia
- Bradley Hospital, Pediatric Anxiety Research Center, East Providence, RI, USA
- Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Providence, RI, USA
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Altered visual cortex excitability in premenstrual dysphoric disorder: Evidence from magnetoencephalographic gamma oscillations and perceptual suppression. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0279868. [PMID: 36584199 PMCID: PMC9803314 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by extreme mood shifts during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (MC) due to abnormal sensitivity to neurosteroids and unbalanced neural excitation/inhibition (E/I) ratio. We hypothesized that in women with PMDD in the luteal phase, these factors would alter the frequency of magnetoencephalographic visual gamma oscillations, affect modulation of their power by excitatory drive, and decrease perceptual spatial suppression. Women with PMDD and control women were examined twice-during the follicular and luteal phases of their MC. We recorded visual gamma response (GR) while modulating the excitatory drive by increasing the drift rate of the high-contrast grating (static, 'slow', 'medium', and 'fast'). Contrary to our expectations, GR frequency was not affected in women with PMDD in either phase of the MC. GR power suppression, which is normally associated with a switch from the 'optimal' for GR slow drift rate to the medium drift rate, was reduced in women with PMDD and was the only GR parameter that distinguished them from control participants specifically in the luteal phase and predicted severity of their premenstrual symptoms. Over and above the atypical luteal GR suppression, in both phases of the MC women with PMDD had abnormally strong GR facilitation caused by a switch from the 'suboptimal' static to the 'optimal' slow drift rate. Perceptual spatial suppression did not differ between the groups but decreased from the follicular to the luteal phase only in PMDD women. The atypical modulation of GR power suggests that neuronal excitability in the visual cortex is constitutively elevated in PMDD and that this E/I imbalance is further exacerbated during the luteal phase. However, the unaltered GR frequency does not support the hypothesis of inhibitory neuron dysfunction in PMDD.
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Lin PC, Ko CH, Yen JY. Early and Late Luteal Executive Function, Cognitive and Somatic Symptoms, and Emotional Regulation of Women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. J Pers Med 2022; 12:jpm12050819. [PMID: 35629240 PMCID: PMC9147888 DOI: 10.3390/jpm12050819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Revised: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective: Cognitive and somatic symptoms were vital factors in developing personalized treatment of depressive disorder. The study aimed to evaluate the following: (1) the cognitive and somatic symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) in the early luteal (EL) and later luteal (LL) phase; and (2) their association with depression and functional impairment of PMDD. Methods: We prospectively evaluated executive function, emotion regulation, cognitive and somatic symptoms, and depression in the EL and LL phases in women with PMDD. Sixty-three women with PMDD and 53 healthy controls completed Simon’s task and questionnaire to assess emotion regulation, inattention, fatigue, insomnia, and depression. Results: Women with PMDD had a poor performance in Simon’s task during the LL phase. They were less likely to exercise cognitive reappraisal during EL and LL phases. Their cognitive reappraisal positively correlated with executive function and negatively associated with depression. In the LL phase, they also experience higher inattention, insomnia, and fatigue, which correlate with the depression and functional impairment of PMDD. Inattention is the most associated factor of PMDD and functional impairment in controlling depression. Conclusion: Executive function was impaired in women with PMDD during the LL phase. Its performance correlated positively with emotion regulation and negatively with depression. The association between inattention and PMDD functional impairment indicates that evaluation and intervention for cognitive impairment were essential in treating women with PMDD. Further studies were required to elucidate the possible etiology underlying these associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pai-Cheng Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung 80145, Taiwan;
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80756, Taiwan;
| | - Chih-Hung Ko
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80756, Taiwan;
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 81267, Taiwan
| | - Ju-Yu Yen
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung 80145, Taiwan;
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80756, Taiwan;
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +886-7-312-1101
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12
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Buggio L, Barbara G, Facchin F, Ghezzi L, Dridi D, Vercellini P. The influence of hormonal contraception on depression and female sexuality: a narrative review of the literature. Gynecol Endocrinol 2022; 38:193-201. [PMID: 34913798 DOI: 10.1080/09513590.2021.2016693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Over the past decades, an increasing number of women have been using hormonal contraception. The potential role of sex hormones in regulating vegetative, psychophysiological, and cognitive functions has been highlighted in several studies, and there is a need to further understand the impact of hormonal contraception on women's quality of life, especially as regards psychological health and sexuality. METHODS We conducted a narrative review aimed at clarifying the mechanisms involved in the interaction between sex hormones and the brain, also focusing on the association between hormonal contraception and mood and sexual function. RESULTS Our findings clarified that hormonal contraception may be associated with depressive symptoms, especially among adolescents, and with sexual dysfunction. However, the evidence included in this review was conflicting and did not support the hypothesis that hormonal contraception directly causes depressive symptoms, major depressive disorder, or sexual dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS The optimal hormonal contraception should be identified in the context of shared decision making, considering the preferences and needs of each woman, as well as her physical and psychosexual conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Buggio
- Gynecology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Giussy Barbara
- Gynecology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
- SVSeD, Service for Sexual and Domestic Violence and Obstetric and Gynecology Emergency Department, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Commenda, Italy
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Facchin
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy
| | - Laura Ghezzi
- Department of Neurology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Dino Ferrari Center, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Dhouha Dridi
- Gynecology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Paolo Vercellini
- Gynecology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
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13
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Hidalgo-Lopez E, Zeidman P, Harris T, Razi A, Pletzer B. Spectral dynamic causal modelling in healthy women reveals brain connectivity changes along the menstrual cycle. Commun Biol 2021; 4:954. [PMID: 34376799 PMCID: PMC8355156 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02447-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Longitudinal menstrual cycle studies allow to investigate the effects of ovarian hormones on brain organization. Here, we use spectral dynamic causal modelling (spDCM) in a triple network model to assess effective connectivity changes along the menstrual cycle within and between the default mode, salience and executive control networks (DMN, SN, and ECN). Sixty healthy young women were scanned three times along their menstrual cycle, during early follicular, pre-ovulatory and mid-luteal phase. Related to estradiol, right before ovulation the left insula recruits the ECN, while the right middle frontal gyrus decreases its connectivity to the precuneus and the DMN decouples into anterior/posterior parts. Related to progesterone during the mid-luteal phase, the insulae (SN) engage to each other, while decreasing their connectivity to parietal ECN, which in turn engages the posterior DMN. When including the most confident connections in a leave-one out cross-validation, we find an above-chance prediction of the left-out subjects' cycle phase. These findings corroborate the plasticity of the female brain in response to acute hormone fluctuations and may help to further understand the neuroendocrine interactions underlying cognitive changes along the menstrual cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esmeralda Hidalgo-Lopez
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
| | - Peter Zeidman
- The Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
| | - TiAnni Harris
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Adeel Razi
- The Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Belinda Pletzer
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
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14
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Wei SM, Baller EB, Martinez PE, Goff AC, Li HJ, Kohn PD, Kippenhan JS, Soldin SJ, Rubinow DR, Goldman D, Schmidt PJ, Berman KF. Subgenual cingulate resting regional cerebral blood flow in premenstrual dysphoric disorder: differential regulation by ovarian steroids and preliminary evidence for an association with expression of ESC/E(Z) complex genes. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:206. [PMID: 33833224 PMCID: PMC8032707 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01328-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Substantial evidence suggests that circulating ovarian steroids modulate behavior differently in women with PMDD than in those without this condition. However, hormonal state-related abnormalities of neural functioning in PMDD remain to be better characterized. In addition, while altered neural function in PMDD likely co-exists with alterations in intrinsic cellular function, such a relationship has not been explored. Here, we investigated the effects of ovarian steroids on basal, resting regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in PMDD, and, in an exploratory analysis, we tested whether the rCBF findings were linked to the expression of ESC/E(Z) genes, which form an essential ovarian steroid-regulated gene-silencing complex. Resting rCBF was measured with oxygen-15 water PET (189 PET sessions in 43 healthy women and 20 women with PMDD) during three self-as-own-control conditions: GnRH agonist (Lupron)-induced ovarian suppression, estradiol add-back, and progesterone add-back. ESC/E(Z) gene expression data were obtained from RNA-sequencing of lymphoblastoid cell lines performed in a previous study and were examined in relation to hormone-induced changes in rCBF. In the rCBF PET data, there was a significant diagnosis-by-hormone interaction in the subgenual cingulate (PFDR = 0.05), an important neuroanatomical hub for regulating affective state. Whereas control women showed no hormonally-related changes in resting rCBF, those with PMDD showed decreased resting rCBF during both estradiol (P = 0.02) and progesterone (P = 0.0002) add-back conditions. In addition, in PMDD, ESC/E(Z) gene expression correlated with the change in resting rCBF between Lupron-alone and progesterone conditions (Pearson r = -0.807, P = 0.016). This work offers a formulation of PMDD that integrates behavioral, neural circuit, and cellular mechanisms, and may provide new targets for future therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shau-Ming Wei
- grid.420086.80000 0001 2237 2479Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, NIMH IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA ,grid.420086.80000 0001 2237 2479Behavioral Endocrinology Branch; NIMH IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Erica B. Baller
- grid.420086.80000 0001 2237 2479Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, NIMH IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Pedro E. Martinez
- grid.420086.80000 0001 2237 2479Behavioral Endocrinology Branch; NIMH IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Allison C. Goff
- grid.420085.b0000 0004 0481 4802Laboratory of Neurogenetics, NIAAA, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Howard J. Li
- grid.420085.b0000 0004 0481 4802Laboratory of Neurogenetics, NIAAA, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Philip D. Kohn
- grid.420086.80000 0001 2237 2479Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, NIMH IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - J. Shane Kippenhan
- grid.420086.80000 0001 2237 2479Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, NIMH IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Steven J. Soldin
- grid.410305.30000 0001 2194 5650Department of Laboratory Medicine, NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - David R. Rubinow
- grid.410711.20000 0001 1034 1720Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC USA
| | - David Goldman
- grid.420085.b0000 0004 0481 4802Laboratory of Neurogenetics, NIAAA, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Peter J. Schmidt
- grid.420086.80000 0001 2237 2479Behavioral Endocrinology Branch; NIMH IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Karen F. Berman
- grid.420086.80000 0001 2237 2479Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, NIMH IRP, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA
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15
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Schweizer-Schubert S, Gordon JL, Eisenlohr-Moul TA, Meltzer-Brody S, Schmalenberger KM, Slopien R, Zietlow AL, Ehlert U, Ditzen B. Steroid Hormone Sensitivity in Reproductive Mood Disorders: On the Role of the GABA A Receptor Complex and Stress During Hormonal Transitions. Front Med (Lausanne) 2021; 7:479646. [PMID: 33585496 PMCID: PMC7873927 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2020.479646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Women worldwide are two to three times more likely to suffer from depression in their lifetime than are men. Female risk for depressive symptoms is particularly high during the reproductive years between menarche and menopause. The term “Reproductive Mood Disorders” refers to depressive disorders triggered by hormonal fluctuations during reproductive transitions including the perimenarchal phase, the pre-menstrual phase, pregnancy, the peripartum period and the perimenopausal transition. Here we focus on reproductive mood disorders manifesting in adult life. We propose a research agenda that draws together several reproductive mood disorders and investigates which genetic, endocrinological, neural, and psychosocial factors can explain depressive symptoms during phases of hormonal transitions in women. Based on current research it is assumed that some women experience an increased sensitivity to not only fluctuations in reproductive steroids (estrogen and progesterone), but also stress-related steroids. We integrate both dynamics into the concept of “steroid hormone sensitivity,” expanding on the concept of “reproductive hormone sensitivity.” We suggest that a differential response of the stress steroid system including corticosteroids, neurosteroids, like allopregnanolone and the GABA-A Receptor complex, as well as a differential (epi)genetic risk in serotonergic and GABAergic signaling, are moderators or mediators between changes in the reproductive steroid system and the physiological, affective, and cognitive outcomes manifesting in reproductive mood disorders. We point to the lack of research on the role of psychosocial factors in increasing a woman's stress level and at some point also the sensitivity of her stress steroid system within the etiology of Reproductive Mood Disorders. Drawing together the evidence on various reproductive mood disorders we seek to present a basis for the development of more effective pharmacological, social, and psychological treatment interventions and prevention strategies for women susceptible to these disorders. This could pave the way for new research as well as medical and psychological teaching and practice- such as a new type of Practice for Gynecological Psychoneuroendocrinology- with the aim of working on and ultimately offering more integrative forms of support not yet available to women suffering from depression during hormonal transitions. In medical history women have been left alone with this integrative challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Schweizer-Schubert
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Institute of Medical Psychology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.,Practice for Psychoendocrinology and Psychotherapy, Heilbronn, Germany
| | | | - Tory A Eisenlohr-Moul
- Women's Mental Health Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | | | - Katja M Schmalenberger
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Institute of Medical Psychology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Radoslaw Slopien
- Department of Gynecological Endocrinology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
| | - Anna-Lena Zietlow
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Institute of Medical Psychology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ulrike Ehlert
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Beate Ditzen
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Institute of Medical Psychology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
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16
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Dubol M, Epperson CN, Sacher J, Pletzer B, Derntl B, Lanzenberger R, Sundström-Poromaa I, Comasco E. Neuroimaging the menstrual cycle: A multimodal systematic review. Front Neuroendocrinol 2021; 60:100878. [PMID: 33098847 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2020.100878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Increasing evidence indicates that ovarian hormones affect brain structure, chemistry and function of women in their reproductive age, potentially shaping their behavior and mental health. Throughout the reproductive years, estrogens and progesterone levels fluctuate across the menstrual cycle and can modulate neural circuits involved in affective and cognitive processes. Here, we review seventy-seven neuroimaging studies and provide a comprehensive and data-driven evaluation of the accumulating evidence on brain plasticity associated with endogenous ovarian hormone fluctuations in naturally cycling women (n = 1304). The results particularly suggest modulatory effects of ovarian hormones fluctuations on the reactivity and structure of cortico-limbic brain regions. These findings highlight the importance of performing multimodal neuroimaging studies on neural correlates of systematic ovarian hormone fluctuations in naturally cycling women based on careful menstrual cycle staging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manon Dubol
- Department of Neuroscience, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden
| | - C Neill Epperson
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine-Anschutz Medical Campus, USA
| | - Julia Sacher
- Emotion Neuroimaging Lab, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany
| | - Belinda Pletzer
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Austria
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Rupert Lanzenberger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Erika Comasco
- Department of Neuroscience, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
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17
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Ambrase A, Lewis CA, Barth C, Derntl B. Influence of ovarian hormones on value-based decision-making systems: Contribution to sexual dimorphisms in mental disorders. Front Neuroendocrinol 2021; 60:100873. [PMID: 32987043 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2020.100873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Women and men exhibit differences in behavior when making value-based decisions. Various hypotheses have been proposed to explain these findings, stressing differences in functional lateralization of the brain, functional activation, neurotransmitter involvement and more recently, sex hormones. While a significant interaction of neurotransmitter systems and sex hormones has been shown for both sexes, decision-making in women might be particularly affected by variations of ovarian hormones. In this review we have gathered information from animal and human studies on how ovarian hormones affect decision-making processes in females by interacting with neurotransmitter systems at functionally relevant brain locations and thus modify the computation of decision aspects. We also review previous findings on impaired decision-making in animals and clinical populations with substance use disorder and depression, emphasizing how little we know about the role of ovarian hormones in aberrant decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aiste Ambrase
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen, Tübingen, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Carolin A Lewis
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen, Tübingen, Germany; Emotion Neuroimaging Lab, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Claudia Barth
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen, Tübingen, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tuebingen, Germany; TübingenNeuroCampus, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; LEAD Research School and Graduate Network, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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18
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Dirk KL, Belfry GR, Heath M. Exercise and Executive Function during Follicular and Luteal Menstrual Cycle Phases. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2020; 52:919-927. [PMID: 31652244 DOI: 10.1249/mss.0000000000002192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE A single bout of aerobic or resistance exercise improves executive function. We sought to determine whether menstrual cycle variations in ovarian hormone concentrations differentially influence the expression and/or magnitude of a postexercise executive benefit. METHODS Eumenorrheic female participants completed 20-min single bouts of aerobic exercise (via cycle ergometer) at a moderate intensity (i.e., 80% of estimated lactate threshold) during the early follicular and midluteal phases of their menstrual cycle. Pre- and postexercise executive function was examined via antisaccades-an executive task requiring a saccade mirror-symmetrical to a visual stimulus. Antisaccades are an ideal tool for examining postexercise executive changes because the task is mediated via the same frontoparietal networks as modified following single-bout and chronic exercise. RESULTS Antisaccade reaction times decreased from the pre- to postexercise assessments by an average of 22 ms (P = 0.003), and this benefit was independent of changes in directional errors or end point accuracy (P's > 0.26). In other words, participants did not decrease their postexercise reaction times at the cost of increased planning times or execution errors. Most notably, the postexercise antisaccade benefit did not vary in magnitude across follicular or luteal phases (P = 0.33) and a two one-sided test statistic (i.e., equivalence testing) provided support for the null hypothesis (P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS A postexercise executive benefit is independent of hormonal variations in the menstrual cycle. Further, our results evince that the phase of a female participant's menstrual cycle should not be a limiting factor in determining their inclusion in exercise neuroscience research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kennedy Laine Dirk
- School of Kinesiology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, CANADA
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19
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Hornung J, Lewis CA, Derntl B. Sex hormones and human brain function. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2020; 175:195-207. [PMID: 33008525 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-64123-6.00014-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Sex hormones have organizational and activational effects on the human brain and can interact with the neurotransmitter systems. These biologic mechanisms may have a far-reaching impact, with both behavioral consequences and structural as well as functional brain modulation. The impact of cycling hormone levels throughout the menstrual cycle on cognitive and emotion processing has especially received some attention recently. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to give an overview of findings regarding the effects of estradiol and progesterone, but also testosterone, on functional brain domains comprising cognition, emotion, and reward processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Hornung
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Carolin A Lewis
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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20
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Dan R, Reuveni I, Canetti L, Weinstock M, Segman R, Goelman G, Bonne O. Trait-related changes in brain network topology in premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Horm Behav 2020; 124:104782. [PMID: 32470339 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2020] [Revised: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The female predominance in the prevalence of depression is partially accounted by reactivity to hormonal fluctuations. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a reproductive subtype of depression characterized by cyclic emotional and somatic symptoms that recur before menstruation. Despite the growing understanding that most psychiatric disorders arise from dysfunctions in distributed brain circuits, the brain's functional connectome and its network properties of segregation and integration were not investigated in PMDD. To this end, we examined the brain's functional network organization in PMDD using graph theoretical analysis. 24 drug naïve women with PMDD and 27 controls without premenstrual symptoms underwent 2 resting-state fMRI scans, during the mid-follicular and late-luteal menstrual cycle phases. Functional connectivity MRI, graph theory metrics, and levels of sex hormones were computed during each menstrual phase. Altered network topology was found in PMDD across symptomatic and remitted stages in major graph metrics (characteristic path length, clustering coefficient, transitivity, local and global efficiency, centrality), indicating decreased functional network segregation and increased functional network integration. In addition, PMDD patients exhibited hypoconnectivity of the anterior temporal lobe and hyperconnectivity of the basal ganglia and thalamus, across menstrual phases. Furthermore, the relationship between difficulties in emotion regulation and PMDD was mediated by specific patterns of functional connectivity, including connections of the striatum, thalamus, and prefrontal cortex. The shifts in the functional connectome and its topology in PMDD may suggest trait vulnerability markers of the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rotem Dan
- Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Neurology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Inbal Reuveni
- Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Laura Canetti
- Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Marta Weinstock
- Institute of Drug Research, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ronen Segman
- Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Gadi Goelman
- Department of Neurology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Omer Bonne
- Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
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21
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Dubol M, Epperson CN, Lanzenberger R, Sundström-Poromaa I, Comasco E. Neuroimaging premenstrual dysphoric disorder: A systematic and critical review. Front Neuroendocrinol 2020; 57:100838. [PMID: 32268180 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2020.100838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Endocrine organizational and activational influences on cognitive and affective circuits are likely critical to the development of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a sex-specific hormone-dependent mood disorder. An overview of the anatomical and functional neural characterization of this disorder is presented here by means of neuroimaging correlates, identified from eighteen publications (n = 361 subjects). While white matter integrity remains uninvestigated, greater cerebellar grey matter volume and metabolism were observed in patients with PMDD, along with altered serotonergic and GABAergic neurotransmission. Differential corticolimbic activation in response to emotional stimuli distinguishes the PMDD brain, namely enhanced amygdalar and diminished fronto-cortical function. Thus far, the emotional distress and dysregulation linked to PMDD seem to be defined by structural, chemical and functional brain signatures; however, their characterization remains sparsely studied and somewhat inconsistent. Clear and well-replicated neurobiological features of PMDD are needed to promote timely diagnoses and inform development of prevention and treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manon Dubol
- Department of Neuroscience, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden
| | - C Neill Epperson
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado, School of Medicine-Anschutz Medical Campus, United States
| | - Rupert Lanzenberger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Erika Comasco
- Department of Neuroscience, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
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22
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Le J, Thomas N, Gurvich C. Cognition, The Menstrual Cycle, and Premenstrual Disorders: A Review. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10040198. [PMID: 32230889 PMCID: PMC7226433 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10040198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2020] [Revised: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex hormones, such as estrogens, progesterone, and testosterone, have a significant influence on brain, behavior, and cognitive functioning. The menstrual cycle has been a convenient model to examine how subtle fluctuations of these hormones can relate to emotional and cognitive functioning. The aim of the current paper is to provide a narrative review of studies investigating cognitive functioning in association with the menstrual cycle in biological females, with a focus on studies that have investigated cognitive functioning across the menstrual cycle in females with premenstrual mood disorders, such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). In line with previous reviews, the current review concluded that there is a lack of consistent findings regarding cognitive functioning across the menstrual cycle. Most studies focused on changes in levels of blood estrogen, and neglected to explore the role of other hormones, such as progesterone, on cognitive functioning. Cognitive research involving premenstrual disorders is in its infancy, and it remains unclear whether any cognitive disturbances that are identified may be attributed to negative experience of mood and psychological symptoms or be a more direct effect of hormonal dysregulation or sensitivity. Suggestions for future research are provided.
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23
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Beltz AM, Moser JS. Ovarian hormones: a long overlooked but critical contributor to cognitive brain structures and function. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2020; 1464:156-180. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 08/13/2019] [Accepted: 09/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adriene M. Beltz
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan
| | - Jason S. Moser
- Department of PsychologyMichigan State University East Lansing Michigan
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24
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Hidalgo-Lopez E, Mueller K, Harris T, Aichhorn M, Sacher J, Pletzer B. Human menstrual cycle variation in subcortical functional brain connectivity: a multimodal analysis approach. Brain Struct Funct 2020; 225:591-605. [PMID: 31894405 PMCID: PMC7046575 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-019-02019-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that endogenous sex steroid changes affect human brain functional connectivity, which could be obtained by resting-state fMRI (RS-fMRI). Nevertheless, RS studies on the menstrual cycle (MC) are underrepresented and yield inconsistent results. We attribute these inconsistencies to the use of various methods in exploratory approaches and small sample sizes. Hormonal fluctuations along the MC likely elicit subtle changes that, however, may still have profound impact on network dynamics when affecting key brain nodes. To address these issues, we propose a ROI-based multimodal analysis approach focusing on areas of high functional relevance to adequately capture these changes. To that end, sixty naturally cycling women underwent RS-fMRI in three different cycle phases and we performed the following analyses: (1) group-independent component analyses to identify intrinsic connectivity networks, (2) eigenvector centrality (EC) as a measure of centrality in the global connectivity hierarchy, (3) amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) as a measure of oscillatory activity and (4) seed-based analyses to investigate functional connectivity from the ROIs. For (2)–(4), we applied a hypothesis-driven ROI approach in the hippocampus, caudate and putamen. In the luteal phase, we found (1) decreased intrinsic connectivity of the right angular gyrus with the default mode network, (2) heightened EC for the hippocampus, and (3) increased ALFF for the caudate. Furthermore, we observed (4) stronger putamen–thalamic connectivity during the luteal phase and stronger fronto-striatal connectivity during the pre-ovulatory phase. This hormonal modulation of connectivity dynamics may underlie behavioural, emotional and sensorimotor changes along the MC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esmeralda Hidalgo-Lopez
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
| | - Karsten Mueller
- Methods and Development Group Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - TiAnni Harris
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Markus Aichhorn
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Julia Sacher
- Research Group EGG (Emotions and neuroimaGinG)-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 16, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Belinda Pletzer
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
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The cycling brain: menstrual cycle related fluctuations in hippocampal and fronto-striatal activation and connectivity during cognitive tasks. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:1867-1875. [PMID: 31195407 PMCID: PMC6785086 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-019-0435-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Estradiol and progesterone vary along the menstrual cycle and exert opposite effects on a variety of neurotransmitter systems. However, few studies have addressed menstrual cycle-dependent changes in the brain. In the present study we investigate menstrual cycle changes in brain activation and connectivity patterns underlying cognition. Thirty-six naturally cycling women underwent functional MRI during two cognitive tasks: spatial navigation and verbal fluency. While no significant performance differences were observed along the menstrual cycle, the changes in brain activation patterns are strikingly similar during both tasks. Irrespective of the task, estradiol boosts hippocampal activation during the pre-ovulatory cycle phase and progesterone boosts fronto-striatal activation during the luteal cycle phase. Connectivity analyses suggest that the increase in right-hemispheric frontal activation is the result of inter-hemispheric decoupling and is involved in the down-regulation of hippocampal activation.
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Individual differences in the effect of menstrual cycle on basal ganglia inhibitory control. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11063. [PMID: 31363112 PMCID: PMC6667495 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47426-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2018] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Basal ganglia (BG) are involved in inhibitory control (IC) and known to change in structure and activation along the menstrual cycle. Therefore, we investigated BG activation and connectivity patterns related to IC during different cycle phases. Thirty-six naturally cycling women were scanned three times performing a Stop Signal Task and hormonal levels analysed from saliva samples. We found an impaired Stop signal reaction time (SSRT) during pre-ovulatory compared to menses the higher the baseline IC of women. Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD)-response in bilateral putamen significantly decreased during the luteal phase. Connectivity strength from the left putamen displayed an interactive effect of cycle and IC. During pre-ovulatory the connectivity with anterior cingulate cortex and left inferior parietal lobe was significantly stronger the higher the IC, and during luteal with left supplementary motor area. Right putamen's activation and left hemisphere's connectivity predicted the SSRT across participants. Therefore, we propose a compensatory mechanism for the hormonal changes across the menstrual cycle based on a lateralized pattern.
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Stickel S, Wagels L, Wudarczyk O, Jaffee S, Habel U, Schneider F, Chechko N. Neural correlates of depression in women across the reproductive lifespan - An fMRI review. J Affect Disord 2019; 246:556-570. [PMID: 30605874 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2018.12.133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Revised: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Depressive disorders in women emerge largely during transitions in their reproductive aging cycle, which can be attributed to internal endocrine possesses that affect emotion-associated brain circuits. A review was performed to outline the neural basis in depression during female puberty, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), postpartum depression disorder (PPD) and perimenopausal depression disorder. METHODS For this review, Web of science, Pubmed and PsychInfo databases were searched for functional brain imaging studies addressing reproductive cycle-related mood disorder. The results are summarized and discussed within a broader theoretical framework of major depression disorder (MDD) to determine how reproductive-sensitive phases contribute to affective symptoms and how they relate to the neurobiology of MDD. RESULTS Neural activation patterns of all depressive disorders related to female reproductive cycle, except for puberty depression, differ from these observed in MDD. While the PMDD results are widely divergent, the activation patterns in PPD show general hypoactivation in all respects. LIMITATIONS Systematic comparisons between the diverse depression disorders are impeded by the heterogeneous experimental protocols used on different samples, reproductive aging stages and depression types. CONCLUSION Given that hormonal fluctuations strongly influence the development of a reproductive cycle-related depression, it is possible that the hormonal and neural patterns are indicative of distinct mood disorder with phase specific biotypes, that only show behavioral similarities to MDD. Understanding the similarities and differences in the neural functioning of female cycle-related mood disorders evaluated against MDD might help elucidate the role of neuroendocrine involvement in development of depression in women, and potentially facilitate the search for prevention and treatment approaches for women' reproductive-related depressions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Stickel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Lisa Wagels
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Olga Wudarczyk
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Sara Jaffee
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Frank Schneider
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany; University Hospital, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Natalia Chechko
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
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Wei SM, Schiller CE, Schmidt PJ, Rubinow DR. The role of ovarian steroids in affective disorders. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Petersen N, Ghahremani DG, Rapkin AJ, Berman SM, Liang L, London ED. Brain activation during emotion regulation in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Psychol Med 2018; 48:1795-1802. [PMID: 29145910 PMCID: PMC9196139 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291717003270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Difficulties in regulating emotions are linked to the core symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). We therefore investigated the neural substrates of emotion-regulation problems in women with PMDD. METHODS On the basis of self-evaluations over 2 months on the Daily Record of Severity of Problems, eligible participants were assigned to two groups: PMDD and control (18 per group). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a well-validated task were used to assess brain function during emotion regulation. Participants were tested twice, once during the follicular (asymptomatic) and once in the late luteal (symptomatic) phase of the menstrual cycle. RESULTS Women with PMDD gave higher ratings of negative affect in the luteal phase than in the follicular phase, and compared with healthy control participants during the luteal phase. A region-of-interest fMRI analysis indicated that during the late luteal phase, women with PMDD had hypoactivation in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during all conditions of the emotion-regulation task, not only in the contrast that isolated emotion regulation. An exploratory whole-brain, voxel-wise analysis showed that women with PMDD had less activation in the precentral gyrus during the luteal phase than the follicular phase, and less activation in the postcentral gyrus compared with control participants. CONCLUSIONS During the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, women with PMDD experience difficulty regulating emotions. Hypoactivation in the right dlPFC may contribute to this problem, but may be related more generally to other affective symptoms of PMDD. Hypofunction in the right pre- and postcentral gyri warrants additional study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Petersen
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
| | - Dara G. Ghahremani
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
| | - Andrea J. Rapkin
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
| | - Steven M. Berman
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
| | - Letty Liang
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
| | - Edythe D. London
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
- Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
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Sundström-Poromaa I. The Menstrual Cycle Influences Emotion but Has Limited Effect on Cognitive Function. VITAMINS AND HORMONES 2018; 107:349-376. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.vh.2018.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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31
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Liao H, Duan G, Liu P, Liu Y, Pang Y, Liu H, Tang L, Tao J, Wen D, Li S, Liang L, Deng D. Altered fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation in premenstrual syndrome: A resting state fMRI study. J Affect Disord 2017; 218:41-48. [PMID: 28458114 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.04.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2016] [Revised: 02/28/2017] [Accepted: 04/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is becoming highly prevalent among female and is characterized by emotional, physical and behavior symptoms. Previous evidence suggested functional dysregulation of female brain was expected to be involved in the etiology of PMS. The aim of present study was to evaluate the alterations of spontaneous brain activity in PMS patients based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). METHODS 20 PMS patients and 21 healthy controls underwent resting-state fMRI scanning during luteal phase. All participants were asked to complete a prospective daily record of severity of problems (DRSP) questionnaire. RESULTS Compared with healthy controls, the results showed that PMS patients had increased fALFF in bilateral precuneus, left hippocampus and left inferior temporal cortex, and decreased fALFF in bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and cerebellum at luteal phase. Moreover, the DRSP scores of PMS patients were negatively correlated with the mean fALFF in ACC and positively correlated with the fALFF in precuneus. LIMITATIONS (1) the study did not investigate whether or not abnormal brain activity differences between groups in mid-follicular phase, and within-group changes. between phases.(2) it was relatively limited sample size and the participants were young; (3) fALFF could not provide us with more holistic information of brain network;(4) the comparisons of PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) were not involved in the study. CONCLUSIONS The present study shows abnormal spontaneous brain activity in PMS patients revealed by fALFF, which could provide neuroimaging evidence to further improve our understanding of the underlying neural mechanism of PMS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hai Liao
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530023, China
| | - Gaoxiong Duan
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530023, China
| | - Peng Liu
- Life Science Research Center, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Yanfei Liu
- Life Science Research Center, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Yong Pang
- Department of Acupuncture, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530023, China
| | - Huimei Liu
- Department of Acupuncture, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530023, China
| | - Lijun Tang
- Department of Acupuncture, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530023, China
| | - Jien Tao
- Department of Acupuncture, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530023, China
| | - Danhong Wen
- Department of Teaching, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530023, China
| | - Shasha Li
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530023, China
| | - Lingyan Liang
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530023, China
| | - Demao Deng
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530023, China.
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Ocampo Rebollar A, Menéndez Balaña FJ, Conde Pastor M. Comparison of affect changes during the ovulatory phase in women with and without hormonal contraceptives. Heliyon 2017; 3:e00282. [PMID: 28409184 PMCID: PMC5382146 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2016] [Revised: 02/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies about affect changes during the menstrual cycle and the role of hormones in these changes have yielded contradictory results. Often research has focused on the pre-menstrual phase, with few studies paying specific attention to the affect changes around ovulation. In this research thirty women completed a daily questionnaire measuring the positive and negative affect during their menstrual cycle. These women were divided in two groups: hormonally-contracepting and naturally-cycling. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule was used to measure the affect. A Digital Ovulation Test was used to determine the day of ovulation in the participants not taking hormonal contraceptives by measuring the Luteinizing Hormone peak. The differences in positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) between groups were examined. The results indicate that during the ovulatory phase, PA scores are significantly higher in naturally-cycling women than hormonally-contracepting women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Ocampo Rebollar
- Departamento de Psicología Básica II, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain
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Slyepchenko A, Lokuge S, Nicholls B, Steiner M, Hall GBC, Soares CN, Frey BN. Subtle persistent working memory and selective attention deficits in women with premenstrual syndrome. Psychiatry Res 2017; 249:354-362. [PMID: 28152471 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.01.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2016] [Revised: 01/06/2017] [Accepted: 01/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
As a recurrent, cyclical phenomenon, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) affects a significant proportion of women of the reproductive age, and leads to regular monthly days of functional impairment. Symptoms of PMS include somatic and psychological symptoms, such as headaches, sleep disturbances, social withdrawal and mood changes, during the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, which alleviate during the follicular phase. This study investigated neurocognitive functioning in women with moderate to severe PMS symptoms (n=13) compared to women with mild/no PMS (n=27) through administration of a battery of neuropsychological tests during the asymptomatic follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Relative to women with mild/no PMS symptoms, women with moderate to severe PMS showed significantly poorer accuracy and more errors of omission on the N-0-back, as well as more errors of omission on the N-2-back task, indicating the presence of impairment in selective attention and working memory. This study provides evidence of persistent, subtle working memory and selective attention difficulties in those with moderate to severe PMS during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasiya Slyepchenko
- Women's Health Concerns Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, 100 West 5th Street, Suite C124, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3K7; MiNDS Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, Canada.
| | - Sonali Lokuge
- Women's Health Concerns Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, 100 West 5th Street, Suite C124, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3K7; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Toronto, 123 Edward St. Suite 1200, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | - Brianne Nicholls
- Women's Health Concerns Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, 100 West 5th Street, Suite C124, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3K7.
| | - Meir Steiner
- Women's Health Concerns Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, 100 West 5th Street, Suite C124, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3K7; MiNDS Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, Canada.
| | - Geoffrey B C Hall
- MiNDS Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, Canada.
| | - Claudio N Soares
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
| | - Benicio N Frey
- Women's Health Concerns Clinic, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, 100 West 5th Street, Suite C124, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3K7; MiNDS Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, Canada; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, Canada; Mood Disorders Program, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, 100 West 5th St, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
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Gupta A, Mayer EA, Fling C, Labus JS, Naliboff BD, Hong JY, Kilpatrick LA. Sex-based differences in brain alterations across chronic pain conditions. J Neurosci Res 2017; 95:604-616. [PMID: 27870423 PMCID: PMC5120652 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2016] [Revised: 06/18/2016] [Accepted: 07/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Common brain mechanisms are thought to play a significant role across a multitude of chronic pain syndromes. In addition, there is strong evidence for the existence of sex differences in the prevalence of chronic pain and in the neurobiology of pain. Thus, it is important to consider sex when developing general principals of pain neurobiology. The goal of the current Mini-Review is to evaluate what is known about sex-specific brain alterations across multiple chronic pain populations. A total of 15 sex difference and 143 single-sex articles were identified from among 412 chronic pain neuroimaging articles. Results from sex difference studies indicate more prominent primary sensorimotor structural and functional alterations in female chronic pain patients compared with male chronic pain patients: differences in the nature and degree of insula alterations, with greater insula reactivity in male patients; differences in the degree of anterior cingulate structural alterations; and differences in emotional-arousal reactivity. Qualitative comparisons of male-specific and female-specific studies appear to be consistent with the results from sex difference studies. Given these differences, mixed-sex studies of chronic pain risk creating biased data or missing important information and single-sex studies have limited generalizability. The advent of large-scale neuroimaging databases will likely aid in building a more comprehensive understanding of sex differences and commonalities in brain mechanisms underlying chronic pain. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arpana Gupta
- Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Emeran A Mayer
- Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Pain and Interoception Network (PAIN), UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Connor Fling
- Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer S Labus
- Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Pain and Interoception Network (PAIN), UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Bruce D Naliboff
- Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jui-Yang Hong
- Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Lisa A Kilpatrick
- Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Pain and Interoception Network (PAIN), UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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McGonigle J, Murphy A, Paterson LM, Reed LJ, Nestor L, Nash J, Elliott R, Ersche KD, Flechais RSA, Newbould R, Orban C, Smith DG, Taylor EM, Waldman AD, Robbins TW, Deakin JFW, Nutt DJ, Lingford-Hughes AR, Suckling J. The ICCAM platform study: An experimental medicine platform for evaluating new drugs for relapse prevention in addiction. Part B: fMRI description. J Psychopharmacol 2017; 31:3-16. [PMID: 27703042 PMCID: PMC5367542 DOI: 10.1177/0269881116668592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We aimed to set up a robust multi-centre clinical fMRI and neuropsychological platform to investigate the neuropharmacology of brain processes relevant to addiction - reward, impulsivity and emotional reactivity. Here we provide an overview of the fMRI battery, carried out across three centres, characterizing neuronal response to the tasks, along with exploring inter-centre differences in healthy participants. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Three fMRI tasks were used: monetary incentive delay to probe reward sensitivity, go/no-go to probe impulsivity and an evocative images task to probe emotional reactivity. A coordinate-based activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis was carried out for the reward and impulsivity tasks to help establish region of interest (ROI) placement. A group of healthy participants was recruited from across three centres (total n=43) to investigate inter-centre differences. Principle observations: The pattern of response observed for each of the three tasks was consistent with previous studies using similar paradigms. At the whole brain level, significant differences were not observed between centres for any task. CONCLUSIONS In developing this platform we successfully integrated neuroimaging data from three centres, adapted validated tasks and applied whole brain and ROI approaches to explore and demonstrate their consistency across centres.
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Affiliation(s)
- John McGonigle
- Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Anna Murphy
- Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Louise M Paterson
- Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Laurence J Reed
- Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Liam Nestor
- Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK,Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jonathan Nash
- Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Rebecca Elliott
- Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Karen D Ersche
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK,Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Remy SA Flechais
- Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | | | - Csaba Orban
- Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Dana G Smith
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Eleanor M Taylor
- Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Adam D Waldman
- Centre for Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Trevor W Robbins
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK,Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - JF William Deakin
- Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - David J Nutt
- Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Anne R Lingford-Hughes
- Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK,Anne Lingford-Hughes, Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Imperial College London, Burlington Danes Building, Hammersmith Hospital campus, 160 Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.
| | - John Suckling
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK,Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK,Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Fulbourn, UK
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Griskova-Bulanova I, Griksiene R, Voicikas A, Ruksenas O. Go and NoGo: modulation of electrophysiological correlates by female sex steroid hormones. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2016; 233:2607-15. [PMID: 27137197 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-016-4311-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2015] [Accepted: 04/20/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE The behavioral and electrophysiological responses in a Go/NoGo task are objective measures of executive functioning that may be impaired in clinical conditions. Prior to the wider application of Go/NoGo tasks in clinics, it is tempting to evaluate factors causing modulation of the responses. OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate the effect of different levels of female sex steroids on Go/NoGo task-related ERPs in healthy females. METHODS Thirty-four young healthy females performed an equiprobable (50/50) auditory Go/NoGo task. Amplitudes and latencies of N2 and P3 peaks from Fz, Cz, and Pz electrodes were evaluated. 17β-estradiol and progesterone levels in saliva samples were measured. Electrophysiological measures were correlated to 17β-estradiol and progesterone concentrations. RESULTS The diverse pattern of modulation of P3 latencies was shown: higher levels of 17β-estradiol contributed to Go-P3 latency prolongation, and higher levels of progesterone contributed to NoGo-P3 latency shortening. Higher levels of 17β-estradiol were associated with more negative frontal N2 amplitude in both conditions. CONCLUSIONS The relationship between electrophysiological correlates of executive functioning to individual hormonal levels points to a broader range of variation sources in healthy subjects which might mask or pronounce between-group differences in clinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inga Griskova-Bulanova
- Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Vilnius University, Sauletekio 7, LT-10222, Vilnius, Lithuania.
| | - Ramune Griksiene
- Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Vilnius University, Sauletekio 7, LT-10222, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Aleksandras Voicikas
- Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Vilnius University, Sauletekio 7, LT-10222, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Osvaldas Ruksenas
- Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Vilnius University, Sauletekio 7, LT-10222, Vilnius, Lithuania
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Schiller CE, Johnson SL, Abate AC, Schmidt PJ, Rubinow DR. Reproductive Steroid Regulation of Mood and Behavior. Compr Physiol 2016; 6:1135-60. [PMID: 27347888 PMCID: PMC6309888 DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c150014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
In this article, we examine evidence supporting the role of reproductive steroids in the regulation of mood and behavior in women and the nature of that role. In the first half of the article, we review evidence for the following: (i) the reproductive system is designed to regulate behavior; (ii) from the subcellular to cellular to circuit to behavior, reproductive steroids are powerful neuroregulators; (iii) affective disorders are disorders of behavioral state; and (iv) reproductive steroids affect virtually every system implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. In the second half of the article, we discuss the diagnosis of the three reproductive endocrine-related mood disorders (premenstrual dysphoric disorder, postpartum depression, and perimenopausal depression) and present evidence supporting the relevance of reproductive steroids to these conditions. Existing evidence suggests that changes in reproductive steroid levels during specific reproductive states (i.e., the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, parturition, and the menopause transition) trigger affective dysregulation in susceptible women, thus suggesting the etiopathogenic relevance of these hormonal changes in reproductive mood disorders. Understanding the source of individual susceptibility is critical to both preventing the onset of illness and developing novel, individualized treatments for reproductive-related affective dysregulation. © 2016 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 6:1135-1160, 2016e.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal Edler Schiller
- Psychiatry Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sarah L. Johnson
- Psychiatry Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Anna C. Abate
- Psychiatry Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Peter J. Schmidt
- Section on Behavioral Endocrinology, National Institute of Mental Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - David R. Rubinow
- Psychiatry Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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Comasco E, Sundström-Poromaa I. Neuroimaging the Menstrual Cycle and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2015; 17:77. [PMID: 26272540 DOI: 10.1007/s11920-015-0619-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Knowledge of gonadal hormone-related influences on human brain anatomy, function, and chemistry is scarce. The present review scrutinized organizational and functional neuroimaging correlates of the menstrual cycle and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Supportive evidence of cyclic short-term structural and functional brain plasticity in response to gonadal hormonal modulation is provided. The paucity of studies, sparsity and discordance of findings, and weaknesses in study design at present hinder the drawing of firm conclusions. Ideal study designs should comprise high-resolution multimodal neuroimaging (e.g., MRI, DTI, rs-fMRI, fMRI, PET), hormones, genetic, and behavioral longitudinal assessments of healthy women and PMDD patients at critical time points of the menstrual cycle phase (i.e., early follicular phase, late follicular phase, mid-luteal phase) in a counter-balanced setup. Studies integrating large-scale brain network structural, functional, and molecular neuroimaging, as well as treatment data, will deepen the understanding of neural state, disorder, and treatment markers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Comasco
- Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, BMC, Box 593, 751 24, Uppsala, Sweden,
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Liu Q, Li R, Zhou R, Li J, Gu Q. Abnormal Resting-State Connectivity at Functional MRI in Women with Premenstrual Syndrome. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0136029. [PMID: 26325510 PMCID: PMC4556707 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2014] [Accepted: 07/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) refers to a series of cycling and relapsing physical, emotion and behavior syndromes that occur in the luteal phase and resolve soon after the onset of menses. Although PMS is widely recognized, its neural mechanism is still unclear. DESIGN To address this question, we measured brain activity for women with PMS and women without PMS (control group) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). In addition, the participants should complete the emotion scales (Beck Anxiety Inventory, BAI; Beck Depression Inventory, BDI, before the scanning) as well as the stress perception scale (Visual analog scale for stress, VAS, before and after the scanning). RESULTS The results showed that compared with the control group, the PMS group had decreased connectivity in the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and theparahippocampalgyrus (PHG), as well as increased connectivity in the left medial/superior temporal gyri (MTG/STG) and precentralgyrus within the default mode network (DMN); in addition, the PMS group had higher anxiety and depression scale scores, together with lower stress perception scores. Finally, there were significantly positive correlations between the stress perception scores and functional connectivity in the MFG and cuneus. The BDI scores in the PMS group were correlated negatively with the functional connectivity in the MFG and precuneus and correlated positively with the functional connectivity in the MTG. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that compared with normal women, women with PMS displayed abnormal stress sensitivity, which was reflected in the decreased and increased functional connectivity within the DMN, blunted stress perception and higher depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, P. R. China
- Research Center of Emotion Regulation, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Rui Li
- Center on Aging Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Renlai Zhou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, P. R. China
- Department of Psychology, School of Social and Behavioral Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, P. R. China
- Research Center of Emotion Regulation, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, P. R. China
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, P. R. China
- * E-mail:
| | - Juan Li
- Center on Aging Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Quan Gu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, P. R. China
- Research Center of Emotion Regulation, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, P. R. China
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40
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Gingnell M, Bannbers E, Engman J, Frick A, Moby L, Wikström J, Sundström-Poromaa I. The effect of combined hormonal contraceptives use on brain reactivity during response inhibition. EUR J CONTRACEP REPR 2015; 21:150-7. [DOI: 10.3109/13625187.2015.1077381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
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41
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Helmbold K, Zvyagintsev M, Dahmen B, Bubenzer-Busch S, Gaber TJ, Crockett MJ, Klasen M, Sánchez CL, Eisert A, Konrad K, Habel U, Herpertz-Dahlmann B, Zepf FD. Effects of serotonin depletion on punishment processing in the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortices of healthy women. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2015; 25:846-56. [PMID: 25869157 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2015.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2014] [Revised: 01/27/2015] [Accepted: 02/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Diminished synthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) has been linked to disrupted impulse control in aversive contexts. However, the neural correlates underlying a serotonergic modulation of female impulsivity remain unclear. The present study investigated punishment-induced inhibition in healthy young women. Eighteen healthy female subjects (aged 20-31) participated in a double-blinded, counterbalanced, placebo-controlled, within subjects, repeated measures study. They were assessed on two randomly assigned occasions that were controlled for menstrual cycle phase. In a randomized order, one day, acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) was used to reduce 5-HT synthesis in the brain. On the other day, participants received a tryptophan-balanced amino acid load (BAL) as a control condition. Three hours after administration of ATD/BAL, neural activity was recorded during a modified Go/No-Go task implementing reward or punishment processes using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Neural activation during No-Go trials in punishment conditions after BAL versus ATD administration correlated positively with the magnitude of central 5-HT depletion in the ventral and subgenual anterior cingulate cortices (ACC). Furthermore, neural activation in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and the dorsal ACC correlated positively with trait impulsivity. The results indicate reduced neural sensitivity to punishment after short-term depletion of 5-HT in brain areas related to emotion regulation (subgenual ACC) increasing with depletion magnitude and in brain areas related to appraisal and expression of emotions (mOFC and dorsal ACC), increasing with trait impulsivity. This suggests a serotonergic modulation of neural circuits related to emotion regulation, impulsive behavior, and punishment processing in females.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Helmbold
- RWTH Aachen University, Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Germany; Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Germany
| | - M Zvyagintsev
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Germany; RWTH Aachen University, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Germany
| | - B Dahmen
- RWTH Aachen University, Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Germany
| | - S Bubenzer-Busch
- RWTH Aachen University, Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Germany; Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Germany
| | - T J Gaber
- RWTH Aachen University, Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Germany; Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Germany
| | - M J Crockett
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - M Klasen
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Germany; RWTH Aachen University, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Germany
| | - C L Sánchez
- RWTH Aachen University, Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Germany; Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Germany
| | - A Eisert
- Department of Pharmacy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - K Konrad
- RWTH Aachen University, Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Germany; Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Germany; Institute for Neuroscience and Medicine, Jülich Research Centre, Germany
| | - U Habel
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Germany; RWTH Aachen University, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Germany
| | - B Herpertz-Dahlmann
- RWTH Aachen University, Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Germany; Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Germany
| | - F D Zepf
- Department of Health in Western Australia, Specialised Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Perth, WA, Australia; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences and School of Paediatrics & Child Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
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42
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Petersen N, Touroutoglou A, Andreano JM, Cahill L. Oral contraceptive pill use is associated with localized decreases in cortical thickness. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:2644-54. [PMID: 25832993 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2014] [Revised: 03/06/2015] [Accepted: 03/13/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Oral contraceptive pills (OCs), which are used to prevent pregnancy by the majority of women in the United States, contain steroid hormones that may affect the brain's structure and function. In this investigation, we tested the hypothesis that OC use is associated with differences in brain structure using a hypothesis-driven, surface-based approach. In 90 women, (44 OC users, 46 naturally-cycling women), we compared the cortical thickness of brain regions that participate in the salience network and the default mode network, as well as the volume of subcortical regions in these networks. We found that OC use was associated with significantly lower cortical thickness measurements in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex. These regions are believed to be important for responding to rewards and evaluating internal states/incoming stimuli, respectively. Further investigations are needed to determine if cortical thinning in these regions are associated with behavioral changes, and also to identify whether OC use is causally or only indirectly related to these changes in brain morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Petersen
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Bonney Research Laboratory, University of California, Irvine, California
| | - Alexandra Touroutoglou
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts.,Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts.,Psychiatric Neuroimaging Division, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts
| | - Joseph M Andreano
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts.,Psychiatric Neuroimaging Division, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts
| | - Larry Cahill
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Bonney Research Laboratory, University of California, Irvine, California
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43
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Toffoletto S, Lanzenberger R, Gingnell M, Sundström-Poromaa I, Comasco E. Emotional and cognitive functional imaging of estrogen and progesterone effects in the female human brain: a systematic review. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2014; 50:28-52. [PMID: 25222701 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.07.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 217] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2014] [Revised: 07/24/2014] [Accepted: 07/25/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Ovarian hormones are pivotal for the physiological maintenance of the brain function as well as its response to environmental stimuli. There is mounting evidence attesting the relevance of endogenous ovarian hormones as well as exogenous estradiol and progesterone for emotional and cognitive processing. The present review systematically summarized current knowledge on sex steroid hormonal modulation of neural substrates of emotion and cognition revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twenty-four studies of healthy naturally cycling and combined oral contraceptives (COC) user women, or women undergoing experimental manipulations, during their reproductive age, were included. Furthermore, six studies of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a hormonally based mood disorder, and three of gender dysphoria (GD), which provides an intriguing opportunity to examine the effect of high-dose cross-sex hormone therapy (CSHT) on brain functioning, were included. Globally, low (early follicular and the entire follicular phase for estrogen and progesterone, respectively) and high (COC, CSHT, late follicular and luteal phase for estrogen; COC, mid- and late-luteal phase for progesterone) hormonal milieu diversely affected the response of several brain regions including the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, and inferior frontal gyrus, but their functional recruitment across groups and domains was scattered. The constellation of findings provides initial evidence of the influence of sex steroid hormones on cortical and subcortical regions implicated in emotional and cognitive processing. Further well-powered and multimodal neuroimaging studies will be needed to identify the neural mechanism of functional brain alterations induced by sex steroid hormones.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rupert Lanzenberger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Malin Gingnell
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Erika Comasco
- Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria; Department of Women's & Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
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44
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Yen JY, Tu HP, Chen CS, Yen CF, Long CY, Ko CH. The effect of serotonin 1A receptor polymorphism on the cognitive function of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2014; 264:729-39. [PMID: 24158751 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-013-0466-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2013] [Accepted: 10/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Estrogen and serotonin play vital roles in the mechanism of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Cognitive deficit in the premenstrual phase contributes to impaired life function among women with PMDD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the difficulties in cognitive control and working memory (WM) in PMDD and to explore the effects of gonadotropic hormone and polymorphism of serotonin 1A receptor (HTR1A; rs6295) on cognitive deficit in PMDD. Women with PMDD completed diagnostic interviewing, questionnaire assessment, the Go/Nogo task, 2-back and 3-back tasks, and gonadotropic hormone analysis in the premenstrual and follicular phases. Further, they were followed up for two menstrual cycles to confirm two consecutive symptomatic cycles. A total of 59 subjects with PMDD and 74 controls completed all evaluation, fulfilled the criteria, and entered into the final analysis. The results demonstrated cognitive control and WM decline in the premenstrual among women with PMDD. The G/G genotype of HTR1A (rs6295) was found to be associated with impaired WM in the premenstrual phase and premenstrual decline of cognitive function. It also contributed to the vulnerability of cognitive function to the menstrual cycle effect and PMDD effect. As the G/G genotype of HTR1A (rs6295) involves in reducing serotonin neurotransmission, our results provide insight into the serotonin mechanism of cognitive function among women with PMDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ju-Yu Yen
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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45
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Sundström Poromaa I, Gingnell M. Menstrual cycle influence on cognitive function and emotion processing-from a reproductive perspective. Front Neurosci 2014; 8:380. [PMID: 25505380 PMCID: PMC4241821 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2014] [Accepted: 11/07/2014] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The menstrual cycle has attracted research interest ever since the 1930s. For many researchers the menstrual cycle is an excellent model of ovarian steroid influence on emotion, behavior, and cognition. Over the past years methodological improvements in menstrual cycle studies have been noted, and this review summarizes the findings of methodologically sound menstrual cycle studies in healthy women. Whereas the predominant hypotheses of the cognitive field state that sexually dimorphic cognitive skills that favor men are improved during menstrual cycle phases with low estrogen and that cognitive skills that favor women are improved during cycle phases with increased estrogen and/or progesterone, this review has not found sufficient evidence to support any of these hypotheses. Mental rotation has gained specific interest in this aspect, but a meta-analysis yielded a standardized mean difference in error rate of 1.61 (95% CI -0.35 to 3.57), suggesting, at present, no favor of an early follicular phase improvement in mental rotation performance. Besides the sexually dimorphic cognitive skills, studies exploring menstrual cycle effects on tasks that probe prefrontal cortex function, for instance verbal or spatial working memory, have also been reviewed. While studies thus far are few, results at hand suggest improved performance at times of high estradiol levels. Menstrual cycle studies on emotional processing, on the other hand, tap into the emotional disorders of the luteal phase, and may be of relevance for women with premenstrual disorders. Although evidence at present is limited, it is suggested that emotion recognition, consolidation of emotional memories, and fear extinction is modulated by the menstrual cycle in women. With the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging, several studies report changes in brain reactivity across the menstrual cycle, most notably increased amygdala reactivity in the luteal phase. Thus, to the extent that behavioral changes have been demonstrated over the course of the menstrual cycle, the best evidence suggests that differences in sexually dimorphic tasks are small and difficult to replicate. However, emotion-related changes are more consistently found, and are better associated with progesterone than with estradiol such that high progesterone levels are associated with increased amygdala reactivity and increased emotional memory.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Malin Gingnell
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University Uppsala, Sweden
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46
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Allopregnanolone as a mediator of affective switching in reproductive mood disorders. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2014; 231:3557-67. [PMID: 24846476 PMCID: PMC4135022 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-014-3599-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2013] [Accepted: 04/14/2014] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Reproductive mood disorders, including premenstrual dysphoria (PMD) and postpartum depression (PPD), are characterized by affective dysregulation that occurs during specific reproductive states. The occurrence of illness onset during changes in reproductive endocrine function has generated interest in the role of gonadal steroids in the pathophysiology of reproductive mood disorders, yet the mechanisms by which the changing hormone milieu triggers depression in susceptible women remain poorly understood. OBJECTIVES This review focuses on one of the neurosteroid metabolites of progesterone - allopregnanolone (ALLO) - that acutely regulates neuronal function and may mediate affective dysregulation that occurs concomitant with changes in reproductive endocrine function. We describe the role of the "neuroactive" steroids estradiol and progesterone in reproductive endocrine-related mood disorders to highlight the potential mechanisms by which ALLO might contribute to their pathophysiology. Finally, using existing data, we test the hypothesis that changes in ALLO levels may trigger affective dysregulation in susceptible women. RESULTS Although there is no reliable evidence that basal ALLO levels distinguish those with PMD or PPD from those without, existing animal models suggest potential mechanisms by which specific reproductive states may unmask susceptibility to affective dysregulation. Consistent with these models, initially euthymic women with PMD and those with a history of PPD show a negative association between depressive symptoms and circulating ALLO levels following progesterone administration. CONCLUSIONS Existing animal models and our own preliminary data suggest that ALLO may play an important role in the pathophysiology of reproductive mood disorders by triggering affective dysregulation in susceptible women.
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47
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Davies W. Sex differences in attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: candidate genetic and endocrine mechanisms. Front Neuroendocrinol 2014; 35:331-46. [PMID: 24680800 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2014.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2013] [Revised: 02/13/2014] [Accepted: 03/17/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a developmental condition characterised by severe inattention, pathological impulsivity and hyperactivity; it is relatively common affecting up to 6% of children, and is associated with a risk of long-term adverse educational and social consequences. Males are considerably more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than females; the course of the disorder and its associated co-morbidities also appear to be sensitive to sex. Here, I discuss fundamental biological (genetic and endocrine) mechanisms that have been shown to, or could theoretically, contribute towards these sexually dimorphic phenomena. Greater understanding of how and why the sexes differ with respect to ADHD vulnerability should allow us to identify and characterise novel protective and risk factors for the disorder, and should ultimately facilitate improved diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Davies
- Behavioural Genetics Group, Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Schools of Psychology and Medicine, Cardiff University, Tower Building, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK; Medical Research Council Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, UK.
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48
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Poromaa IS. Physiological Correlates of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2014; 21:229-43. [PMID: 24590826 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2014_296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a mood disorder with onset of functionally impairing or distressing mood symptoms in the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Psychophysiologic findings in PMDD broadly fall into two categories: vulnerability trait findings, thus categorized because they are present in the asymptomatic phases of the menstrual cycle, and state findings, which are only present in the symptomatic late luteal phase and which are potentially representative of the hormonal events and biological mechanisms that lead to PMDD. Trait vulnerability markers in PMDD include diminished cardiovascular stress responses, lower heart rate variability (reflecting increased vagal tone), and lower P300 amplitude, eventually suggesting that women with PMDD share a number of physiological correlates with related anxiety and mood disorders. State findings in PMDD include lower luteal phase prepulse inhibition and altered luteal phase emotion processing. Lower prepulse inhibition in the late luteal phase may be an important ovarian steroid-influenced indicative of altered serotonergic neurotransmission, of relevance for women with PMDD. Attempts to determine the neural correlates of emotion processing in the late luteal phase are thus far inconsistent, but promising.
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Rapkin AJ, Berman SM, London ED. The Cerebellum and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. AIMS Neurosci 2014; 1:120-141. [PMID: 28275721 PMCID: PMC5338637 DOI: 10.3934/neuroscience.2014.2.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebellum constitutes ten percent of brain volume and contains the majority of brain neurons. Although it was historically viewed primarily as processing motoric computations, current evidence supports a more comprehensive role, where cerebro-cerebellar feedback loops also modulate various forms of cognitive and affective processing. Here we present evidence for a role of the cerebellum in premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which is characterized by severe negative mood symptoms during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Although a link between menstruation and cyclical dysphoria has long been recognized, neuroscientific investigations of this common disorder have only recently been explored. This article reviews functional and structural brain imaging studies of PMDD and the similar but less well defined condition of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). The most consistent findings are that women with premenstrual dysphoria exhibit greater relative activity than other women in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and posterior lobules VI and VII of the neocerebellum. Since both brain areas have been implicated in emotional processing and mood disorders, working memory and executive functions, this greater activity probably represents coactivation within a cerebro-cerebellar feedback loop regulating emotional and cognitive processing. Some of the evidence suggests that increased activity within this circuit may preserve cerebellar structure during aging, and possible mechanisms and implications of this finding are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea J Rapkin
- USA David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Box 951740, 27-139 CHS, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Steven M Berman
- Center for Addictive Behaviors, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, 90095 USA
| | - Edythe D London
- Center for Addictive Behaviors, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, 90095 USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, and Brain Research Institute, UCLA, 90095 USA
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Affiliation(s)
- C. NEILL EPPERSON
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
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