--- title: How does PMS affect the brain's response to positive emotions? description: Women with PMS show reduced brain activity when viewing positive emotional images, especially during the luteal phase, and have lower mood scores throughout t url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/mood-characterization-and-emotion-regulation-in-women-with-premenstrual-symptoms-2025/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - How does PMS affect the brain's response to positive emotions? Case-control study, 2025 # How does PMS affect the brain's response to positive emotions? Women with PMS show reduced brain activity when viewing positive emotional images, especially during the luteal phase, and have lower mood scores throughout their cycle. This suggests emotional changes in PMS happen even when women don't notice symptoms. Moderate study design 41 women (16 with PMS, 25 without) who completed brain imaging during both menstrual cycle phases ## What they did Researchers showed emotion-triggering images to 41 women (16 with PMS, 25 without) during both phases of their cycle and measured brain activity in the prefrontal cortex using near-infrared spectroscopy. They also assessed mood using a questionnaire before the brain imaging. ## What they found Women with PMS showed significantly lower brain response to positive emotional images in the right prefrontal cortex during both the follicular phase (p=.03) and luteal phase (p<.001). The PMS group also had higher scores on six negative mood scales and a lower positive mood score during the follicular phase, and higher scores on one negative mood scale during the luteal phase. ## What it means for you The brain's ability to respond to positive emotions appears reduced in PMS even during the follicular phase when women might not expect symptoms. This is a small study that only measured brain activity while viewing images, not real emotional reactions in daily life. 16 Women with PMS analyzed 25 Women without PMS analyzed p<.001 Significance of brain response in luteal phase ## About the study Original title Mood characterization and emotion regulation in women with premenstrual symptoms, using mood assessment and measurement of prefrontal cerebral blood flow Authors Makiko Aoki, Masato SUZUKI, Satoshi SUZUKI et al. Journal Advanced Robotics Year 2025 Study design Case-control study Participants 25 What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/01691864.2025.2607668](https://doi.org/10.1080/01691864.2025.2607668) Original abstract This study characterize mood and emotional regulation in women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and mood assessments. Hemodynamic responses in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) were measured while participants viewed emotion-inducing images during both the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. Emotional valence and arousal ratings for each image were obtained immediately after the task. In addition, mood states were evaluated prior to the task using the Profile of Mood States Second Edition (POMS2). Forty-six women completed the procedures across both menstrual cycle phases. After excluding five participants diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), data from 41 participants (non-PMS: n = 25, PMS: n = 16) were analyzed. During the follicular and luteal phases, the PMS group showed significantly lower integrated oxyhemoglobin (oxy-Hb) responses to positive emotional stimuli in the right prefrontal region compared to the non-PMS group (follicular phase: p = .03, r = 0.35; luteal phase: p < .001, r = .0.52). These r values represent effect sizes (rank-biserial correlations) corresponding to the Mann–Whitney U tests. No significant group differences were found in the left prefrontal region and response to negative stimuli. Based on POMS2 scores, the PMS group showed significantly higher scores on six negative mood scales and a lower score on one positive mood scale during the follicular phase. During the luteal phase, only one negative mood subscale score was significantly higher in the PMS group. Group differences in subjective emotional valence and arousal ratings were evident only during the follicular phase. These findings suggest that women with PMS exhibit attenuated neural responses to positive emotional stimuli and altered mood states even during the follicular phase when symptoms are often not consciously recognized. This may highlight the possibility that early-phase emotional dysregulation may precede overt symptom manifestation in PMS, providing insights into its temporal dynamics. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Mood swings and emotion regulation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-emotional-regulation/) 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 Study, 2026 How do women with PMDD process emotions differently in their brains? Case-control study, 2026 Do women with PMS handle emotions differently at different times of the cycle? Systematic review, 2025 Do people with PMDD and severe PMS have difficulties with emotion regulation? Survey study, 2025 Do women with PMS have difficulty managing emotions across their whole cycle or only before their period? Cohort study, 2023 Does the menstrual cycle affect how often women have suicidal thoughts? Case-control study, 2023 Do emotion regulation strategies help women with PMDD manage mood and stress hormones? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗