---
title: Does lowering serotonin worsen premenstrual symptoms? | Niyora
description: Yes. When researchers reduced serotonin using tryptophan depletion, women's premenstrual symptoms got significantly worse, especially irritability. This sugge
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/acute-tryptophan-depletion-aggravates-premenstrual-syndrome-1994/
---

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- Does lowering serotonin worsen premenstrual symptoms?

Randomised trial, 1994

# Does lowering serotonin worsen premenstrual symptoms?

Yes. When researchers reduced serotonin using tryptophan depletion, women's premenstrual symptoms got significantly worse, especially irritability. This suggests serotonin plays a role in PMS.

 Early or limited evidence

16 women with documented PMS

## What they did

Sixteen women with documented PMS were tested at different phases of two menstrual cycles. Each woman received either a drink that depleted tryptophan (which the brain uses to make serotonin) or a sham drink as a comparison.

## What they found

Actual tryptophan depletion caused significant worsening of premenstrual symptoms, particularly irritability, compared to the sham procedure. Symptom severity correlated with how much tryptophan levels dropped relative to other amino acids.

## What it means for you

This supports that low serotonin may contribute to PMS, but the study was very small and used a specialized lab procedure that would not apply to everyday life.

16

women studied

2

menstrual cycles tested

## About the study

Original title Acute tryptophan depletion aggravates premenstrual syndrome Authors Menkes DB, Coates DC, Fawcett JP Journal Journal of affective disorders Year 1994 Study design Randomised trial Participants 16 What was tested Acute tryptophan depletion vs sham procedure Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/0165-0327(94)90059-0](https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-0327(94)90059-0)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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