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The constant ebb and flow of hormones that guide the menstrual cycle don't just affect reproductive organs – they also reshape the brain, and a 2023 study gives us insight into how this happens. Led by neuroscientists Elizabeth Rizor and Viktoriya Babenko of the University of California, Santa Barbara, a team of researchers tracked 30 women across their menstrual cycles, documenting structural changes in the brain as hormonal profiles fluctuate.
, the findings suggest that structural brain changes during menstruation may not be limited to those regions associated with the cycle."These results are the first to report simultaneous brain-wide changes in human white matter microstructure and cortical thickness coinciding with menstrual cycle-driven hormone rhythms,"Menstruation typically means experiencing some 450 or so periods during the course of a lifetime, so understanding their effects on the body is important. Most of the research on the hormonal effect on the brain has been focused on neural communication during cognitive tasks, not on structural changes themselves. "Cyclic fluctuations in HPG-axis hormones exert powerful behavioral, structural, and functional effects through actions on the mammalian central nervous system,"."Yet, very little is known about how these fluctuations alter the structural nodes and information highways of the human brain."– the fatty network of neuronal fibers that transfer information between regions of gray matter – has been found to change with hormonal shifts, including puberty, oral contraception use, gender-affirming hormone therapy, and post-menopausal estrogen therapy.luteal The results showed that, as hormones fluctuate, gray and white matter volumes change too, as does the volume of cerebrospinal fluid.What this means for the person driving the brain is unknown, but the research lays the groundwork for future studies, and perhaps understanding the causes ofby an international team of scientists found each phase of the menstrual cycle had a distinct influence over the brain as a whole, with changes across the brain and in specific regions found to also be related to an individual's age. "Although we do not currently report functional consequences or correlates of structural brain changes, our findings may have implications for hormone-driven alterations in behavior and cognition,""Investigation of brain-hormone relationships across networks is necessary to understand human nervous system functioning on a daily basis, during hormone transition periods, and across the human lifespan."Big breakthroughs. Bold ideas. Straight to your inbox.
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