---
title: Could antidepressants help prevent PMS by keeping brain chemicals stable?
description: This is a theory based on how antidepressants work and animal research, but it has not yet been tested in women.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/ssris-and-the-female-brain-potential-for-utilizing-steroid-stimulating-2013/
---

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- Could antidepressants help prevent PMS by keeping brain chemicals stable?

Lab study, 2013

# Could antidepressants help prevent PMS by keeping brain chemicals stable?

This is a theory based on how antidepressants work and animal research, but it has not yet been tested in women.

 Early or limited evidence

Theoretical paper; based on animal research in female rats and discussion of brain chemistry mechanisms, not a human study

## What they did

Researchers reviewed how a class of antidepressants called SSRIs affect brain chemistry. They discussed animal studies in female rats showing what happens to the brain when progesterone drops rapidly before the cycle restarts.

## What they found

In female rats, when progesterone drops sharply, a brain chemical called allopregnanolone also drops sharply, causing brain changes that lead to anxiety. Low-dose fluoxetine (an SSRI) prevented these brain changes and prevented the anxiety.

## What it means for you

This suggests SSRIs might prevent PMS by keeping allopregnanolone stable in the brain when progesterone drops before menstruation. However, this remains a theory that has not been tested in women. Animal research does not always translate to humans.

## About the study

Original title SSRIs and the female brain--potential for utilizing steroid-stimulating properties to treat menstrual cycle-linked dysphorias Authors Lovick T Journal Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) Year 2013 Study design Lab study What was tested Low-dose SSRI (fluoxetine) during late luteal phase (proposed but not tested in women) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1177/0269881113490327](https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881113490327)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)[Neurosteroids (allopregnanolone)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-neurosteroids/)[Pregnancy and postpartum](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-postpartum/)[Epilepsy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-epilepsy/)

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

Randomised trial, 2023

Does a smartphone app for heart rate variability biofeedback reduce premenstrual and depressive symptoms?

Review, 2003

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

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Does Sepranolone reduce symptoms of severe premenstrual syndrome (PMDD)?

Case-control study, 2025

Do certain hormone-related brain chemicals predict how bad premenstrual depression and anxiety will be?

Cohort study, 2010

How do anxiety disorders differ across different life stages?

Randomised trial, 2009

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

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