--- title: Do women with premenstrual mood problems have different brain serotonin activity? description: Yes, a brain imaging study found women with premenstrual dysphoria lack a normal pattern of serotonin activity on the right side of the brain during the preme url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/women-with-premenstrual-dysphoria-lack-the-seemingly-normal-premenstrual-right-2016/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do women with premenstrual mood problems have different brain serotonin activity? Interview study, 2016 # Do women with premenstrual mood problems have different brain serotonin activity? Yes, a brain imaging study found women with premenstrual dysphoria lack a normal pattern of serotonin activity on the right side of the brain during the premenstrual phase that asymptomatic women show. This is preliminary research based on only 12 women with the condition. Early or limited evidence 12 women with premenstrual dysphoria and 8 women without symptoms ## What they did Lab study comparing 12 women with premenstrual dysphoria to 8 women without symptoms. Researchers used PET brain imaging to measure serotonin activity in 9 brain regions during both the follicular phase and luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. ## What they found Both groups had similar total levels of serotonin precursor activity. But multivariate analysis found an important difference: asymptomatic women showed increased activity on the right side of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the premenstrual phase, while women with premenstrual dysphoria showed the opposite pattern (p=0.0001). Changes in this activity during the cycle correlated with irritability (rs=-0.595, p=0.006). In women with premenstrual dysphoria, changes in estradiol hormone levels correlated with changes in this brain activity pattern (rs=-0.635, p=0.027). ## What it means for you Women with premenstrual mood symptoms may have a different pattern of serotonin activity in the brain related to hormonal changes, which could help explain why mood problems occur. The main limits are a very small sample of only 20 women total, this is a lab imaging study, and brain imaging is complex to interpret. 12 women with premenstrual dysphoria 8 women without symptoms 0.0001 p-value for brain activity difference ## About the study Original title Women with Premenstrual Dysphoria Lack the Seemingly Normal Premenstrual Right-Sided Relative Dominance of 5-HTP-Derived Serotonergic Activity in the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortices - A Possible Cause of Disabling Mood Symptoms Authors Eriksson O, Wall A, Olsson U et al. Journal PloS one Year 2016 Study design Interview study Participants 12 What was tested None, observational comparison with brain imaging Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159538](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159538) Original abstract Study objective: To investigate potential quantitative and qualitative differences in brain serotonergic activity between women with Premenstrual Dysphoria (PMD) and asymptomatic controls. Background: Serotonin-augmenting drugs alleviate premenstrual mood symptoms in the majority of women with PMD while serotonin-depleting diets worsen PMD symptoms, both indicating intrinsic differences in brain serotonergic activity in women with PMD compared to asymptomatic women. Methods: Positron-emission tomography with the immediate precursor of serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), radiolabelled by 11C in the beta-3 position, was performed in the follicular and luteal phases for 12 women with PMD and 8 control women. Brain radioactivity-a proxy for serotonin precursor uptake and synthesis-was measured in 9 regions of interest (ROIs): the right and left sides of the medial prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, putamen and caudate nucleus, and the single "whole brain". Results: There were no significant quantitative differences in brain 5-HTP-derived activity between the groups in either of the menstrual phases for any of the 9 ROIs. However, multivariate analysis revealed a significant quantitative and qualitative difference between the groups. Asymptomatic control women showed a premenstrual right sided relative increase in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex 5-HTP derived activity, whereas PMD women displayed the opposite (p = 0.0001). Menstrual phase changes in this asymmetry (premenstrual-follicular) correlated with changes in self ratings of 'irritability' for the entire group (rs = -0.595, p = 0.006). The PMD group showed a strong inverse correlation between phase changes (premenstrual-follicular) in plasma levels of estradiol and phase changes in the laterality (dx/sin) of radiotracer activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal ROI (rs = -0.635; 0.027). The control group showed no such correlation. Conclusion: Absence of increased premenstrual right-sided relative 5-HTP-derived activity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortices was found to strongly correlate to premenstrual irritability. A causal relationship here seems plausible, and the findings give further support to an underlying frontal brain disturbance in hormonally influenced serotonergic activity in women with PMD. Because of the small number of subjects in the study, these results should be considered preliminary, requiring verification in larger studies. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/) 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, 1998 Is intermittent citalopram during the luteal phase more effective than continuous dosing? Randomised trial, 1995 Does fluoxetine help premenstrual dysphoria? Study, 2026 What are premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder? Randomised trial, 2025 Does escitalopram reduce aggressive behavior in women with premenstrual anger and irritability? Randomised trial, 2025 Does escitalopram improve attention and reduce impulsivity in women with premenstrual irritability and anger? Cohort study, 2023 Does the menstrual cycle affect how often women have suicidal thoughts? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗