Hippocampal structural changes across the menstrual cycle.

TitleHippocampal structural changes across the menstrual cycle.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2008
AuthorsProtopopescu X, Butler T, Pan H, Root J, Altemus M, Polanecsky M, McEwen B, Silbersweig D, Stern E
JournalHippocampus
Volume18
Issue10
Pagination985-8
Date Published2008
ISSN1098-1063
KeywordsAdult, Brain Mapping, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Memory, Menstrual Cycle, Neuronal Plasticity, Premenstrual Syndrome, Verbal Learning
Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in association with Jacobian-modulated voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to test for regional variation in gray matter over the menstrual cycle. T1-weighted anatomical images were acquired using a spoiled gradient recalled acquisition sequence in 21 women. Each subject was scanned twice: once during the postmenstrual late-follicular phase (Days 10-12 after onset of menses), and once during the premenstrual late-luteal phase (1-5 days before the onset of menses). Gray matter was relatively increased in the right anterior hippocampus and relatively decreased in the right dorsal basal ganglia (globus pallidus/putamen) in the postmenstrual phase. Verbal declarative memory was increased in the postmenstrual vs. premenstrual phase. This first report of human brain structural plasticity associated with the endogenous menstrual cycle extends well-established animal findings of hormone-mediated hippocampal plasticity to humans, and has implications for understanding alterations in cognition and behavior across the menstrual cycle.

DOI10.1002/hipo.20468
Alternate JournalHippocampus
PubMed ID18767068
Grant ListR01 MH074808 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
Related Institute: 
Brain Health Imaging Institute (BHII)

Weill Cornell Medicine
Department of Radiology
525 East 68th Street New York, NY 10065