MPI CBS / Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesPET scans show an increase in serotonin transporters, which impairs neuron performanceMPI CBS / Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
As well as mood swings, depression can be another side effect of menstruation. A team from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the University of Leipzig, both in Germany, found that the amount of transporters in the brain for the neurotransmitter serotonin increases just before menstruation. The result is a loss of connections between neurons, which could be the reason for the unexplained sadness felt by women who suffer from this phenomenon. The conclusions are supported by the analysis of 118 brain images taken by positron emission tomography (PET) throughout the menstrual cycles of 30 women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and 29 without. A severe form of premenstrual syndrome, PMDD can cause physical symptoms, such as disturbed sleep and pain, or behavioral symptoms, such as sadness, irritability, and anger. Variations in the levels of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone, which occur in the second half of the cycle after ovulation, can influence the level of serotonin, which affects mood (Biological Psychiatry, January 18; Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, January 27).
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