---
title: Does brain GABA change differently in women with PMDD during the menstrual cycle?
description: Yes. GABA levels dropped across the cycle in healthy women but rose in women with PMDD. This is a very small study, so results need confirmation.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/cortical-gamma-aminobutyric-acid-levels-across-the-menstrual-cycle-in-healthy-2002/
---

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- Does brain GABA change differently in women with PMDD during the menstrual cycle?

Case-control study, 2002

# Does brain GABA change differently in women with PMDD during the menstrual cycle?

Yes. GABA levels dropped across the cycle in healthy women but rose in women with PMDD. This is a very small study, so results need confirmation.

 Early or limited evidence

14 healthy menstruating women and 9 women with PMDD

## What they did

Researchers scanned the brains of 14 healthy women and 9 women with PMDD using MRI to measure the brain chemical GABA during the follicular and luteal phases, and also measured hormone levels.

## What they found

GABA levels declined gradually across the cycle in healthy women. GABA levels increased from the follicular phase to the mid-luteal and late-luteal phases in women with PMDD. The difference was partly explained by lower GABA in the follicular phase in PMDD. Hormones had different relationships with GABA between the two groups.

## What it means for you

GABA, a brain chemical that affects mood, may work differently in PMDD, which could help explain mood symptoms. But the study is very small and was done at one hospital. The findings need to be tested in larger groups and other locations.

14

healthy women

9

women with PMDD

2

menstrual cycle phases studied

## About the study

Original title Cortical gamma-aminobutyric acid levels across the menstrual cycle in healthy women and those with premenstrual dysphoric disorder: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study Authors Epperson CN, Haga K, Mason GF et al. Journal Archives of general psychiatry Year 2002 Study design Case-control study Participants 9 What was tested None Read the paper [doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.59.9.851](https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.59.9.851)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Neurosteroids (allopregnanolone)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-neurosteroids/)[Pregnancy and postpartum](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-postpartum/)

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.

## Related studies

Review, 2003

How do menstrual cycle hormones affect the brain and cause mood disorders like PMDD?

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Are stress hormones different in women with PMDD?

Randomised trial, 2006

Do women with PMDD and depression process progesterone differently than others?

Survey study, 2024

Does a Chinese herbal medicine called ShuYu capsule help PMDD symptoms?

Randomised trial, 2009

Does a hormone called allopregnanolone calm the body's startle reaction in PMDD?

Review, 2004

Could a brain hormone called allopregnanolone explain mood problems like PMDD in women?

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