QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, October 5, 2005, 25(40):9309-9316; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2239-05.2005

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (48) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Goldstein, J. M. Articles by Makris, N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Goldstein, J. M. Articles by Makris, N.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Hormonal Cycle Modulates Arousal Circuitry in Women Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Jill M. Goldstein,^1,2,3 Matthew Jerram,^1,3 Russell Poldrack,⁴ Todd Ahern,² David N. Kennedy,^3,5 Larry J. Seidman,^2,3 and Nikos Makris^3,5

¹Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry and Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Division of Women's Health, Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, ²Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Public Psychiatry Division at Massachusetts Mental Health Center and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, ³Athinoula Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, ⁴Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, and ⁵Harvard Medical School, Departments of Neurology and Radiology, Center for Morphometric Analysis, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129

Sex-specific behaviors are in part based on hormonal regulation of brain physiology. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study demonstrated significant differences in activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) circuitry in adult women with attenuation during ovulation and increased activation during early follicular phase. Twelve normal premenopausal women were scanned twice during the early follicular menstrual cycle phase compared with late follicular/midcycle, using negative valence/high arousal versus neutral visual stimuli, validated by concomitant electrodermal activity (EDA). Significantly greater magnitude of blood oxygenation level-dependent signal changes were found during early follicular compared with midcycle timing in central amygdala, paraventricular and ventromedial hypothalamic nuclei, hippocampus, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate gyrus (aCING), and peripeduncular nucleus of the brainstem, a network of regions implicated in the stress response. Arousal (EDA) correlated positively with brain activity in amygdala, OFC, and aCING during midcycle but not in early follicular, suggesting less cortical control of amygdala during early follicular, when arousal was increased. This is the first evidence suggesting that estrogen may likely attenuate arousal in women via cortical-subcortical control within HPA circuitry. Findings have important implications for normal sex-specific physiological functioning and may contribute to understanding higher rates of mood and anxiety disorders in women and differential sensitivity to trauma than men.

Key words: fMRI; emotion; arousal; hypothalamus; amygdala; women; HPA

---

Received June 2, 2005; revised August 23, 2005; accepted August 24, 2005.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. N Frey, C. Lord, and C. N Soares Depression during menopausal transition: a review of treatment strategies and pathophysiological correlates Menopause Int, September 1, 2008; 14(3): 123 - 128. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. van Wingen, F. van Broekhoven, R. J. Verkes, K. M. Petersson, T. Backstrom, J. Buitelaar, and G. Fernandez How Progesterone Impairs Memory for Biologically Salient Stimuli in Healthy Young Women J. Neurosci., October 17, 2007; 27(42): 11416 - 11423. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. J. Toufexis, K. M. Myers, M. E. Bowser, and M. Davis Estrogen Disrupts the Inhibition of Fear in Female Rats, Possibly through the Antagonistic Effects of Estrogen Receptor {alpha} (ER{alpha}) and ER{beta} J. Neurosci., September 5, 2007; 27(36): 9729 - 9735. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Wang, M. Korczykowski, H. Rao, Y. Fan, J. Pluta, R. C. Gur, B. S. McEwen, and J. A. Detre Gender difference in neural response to psychological stress Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci, September 1, 2007; 2(3): 227 - 239. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Zrinzo, L. V. Zrinzo, and M. Hariz The pedunculopontine and peripeduncular nuclei: a tale of two structures Brain, June 1, 2007; 130(6): e73 - e73. [Full Text] [PDF]

				J.-C. Dreher, P. J. Schmidt, P. Kohn, D. Furman, D. Rubinow, and K. F. Berman Menstrual cycle phase modulates reward-related neural function in women PNAS, February 13, 2007; 104(7): 2465 - 2470. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help