Survey study, 2015
Does progesterone affect brain response to emotions differently in anxious women?
Yes. Women who are naturally more anxious show a stronger brain response to emotional pictures, and this response is strongest during the luteal phase when progesterone is high.
What they did
42 women with regular cycles were grouped by anxiety-proneness: 16 with high anxiety and 26 with low anxiety. Each viewed emotional pictures (positive, negative, neutral) while brain activity was measured on three cycle days: early follicular, late follicular, and luteal phases. Hormone levels and mood were recorded.
What they found
Women with high anxiety showed stronger brain responses to emotional pictures than low-anxiety women. High-anxiety women showed their strongest response during the luteal phase. Brain response to positive pictures was linked to progesterone levels in high-anxiety women in the early follicular phase. Mood ratings were similar between groups.
What it means for you
If you have a naturally anxious personality, your brain may respond more intensely to emotions throughout your cycle, driven by progesterone levels. This suggests hormonal changes affect emotional processing more in anxious women. Limited to women with regular cycles and no history of psychiatric conditions.
42
women studied
16
high anxiety-prone women
26
low anxiety-prone women
About the study
- Original title
- Progesterone mediates the late positive potentials evoked by affective pictures in high neuroticism females
- Authors
- Zhang W, Zhou R, Wang Q et al.
- Journal
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Year
- 2015
- Study design
- Survey study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.04.023
Topics
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