| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
From the National Institute of Mental Health (Drs. Smith, Greenberg, Schmidt, and Rubinow, and J.C. Keel and L.F. Adams) and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (Dr. Wassermann), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Eric M. Wassermann, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 10 Center Drive, MSC 1428, Bethesda, MD 20892-1428.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there are menstrual cycle–related effects on cortical excitability in normal women.
BACKGROUND: Ovarian steroid hormones affect neurotransmission in the brain. Data from animal experiments have shown that progesterone metabolites enhance the action of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the cortex, producing benzodiazepine-like (e.g., diazepam and lorazepam) physiologic and behavioral effects. Estradiol has excitatory effects on measures of neuronal excitability, possibly acting through the glutamate system. These effects have been difficult to detect in women using conventional techniques. However, recently, paired transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used to detect the effects of GABAergic and glutamatergic drugs in humans. We used this method to measure the effects of the menstrual cycle in normal women.
METHODS: We tested 13 healthy women during the follicular (low-progesterone) and luteal (high-progesterone) phases of the menstrual cycle using paired TMS. The effect of a subthreshold conditioning pulse on the cortex was tested by measuring the response to a second suprathreshold test pulse and comparing it with the response elicited by the test pulse administered alone.
RESULTS: Conditioning TMS produced more inhibition in the luteal phase than in the follicular phase (p = 0.01), of similar magnitude to the reported effect of benzodiazepine drugs.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first direct evidence of changes in the excitability of a cortical network with the menstrual cycle. The results also show a potential confound for studies using transcranial magnetic stimulation in populations that include menstruating women.
Key words: Motor cortex—Menstrual cycle—Magnetic stimulation—Paired stimulation—Neurosteroids—Gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors—Progesterone.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  R.A.B. Badawy, R. A.L. Macdonell, G. D. Jackson, and S. F. Berkovic Why do seizures in generalized epilepsy often occur in the morning? Neurology, July 21, 2009; 73(3): 218 - 222. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Badawy, R. Macdonell, G. Jackson, and S. Berkovic The peri-ictal state: cortical excitability changes within 24 h of a seizure Brain, April 1, 2009; 132(4): 1013 - 1021. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. V. Sale, M. C. Ridding, and M. A. Nordstrom Cortisol Inhibits Neuroplasticity Induction in Human Motor Cortex J. Neurosci., August 13, 2008; 28(33): 8285 - 8293. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. Z. Ross, A. V. Nowicky, and A. K. McConnell Influence of acute inspiratory loading upon diaphragm motor-evoked potentials in healthy humans J Appl Physiol, May 1, 2007; 102(5): 1883 - 1890. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R.A.B. Badawy, J. M. Curatolo, M. Newton, S. F. Berkovic, and R. A.L. Macdonell Sleep deprivation increases cortical excitability in epilepsy: Syndrome-specific effects. Neurology, September 26, 2006; 67(6): 1018 - 1022. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Duguet, A. Demoule, J. Gonzalez, O. Remy-Neris, J. P. Derenne, and T. Similowski Predicting the recovery of ventilatory activity in central respiratory paralysis. Neurology, July 25, 2006; 67(2): 288 - 292. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. M. Kalmar and E. Cafarelli Central excitability does not limit postfatigue voluntary activation of quadriceps femoris J Appl Physiol, June 1, 2006; 100(6): 1757 - 1764. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Buhmann, A. Gorsler, T. Baumer, U. Hidding, C. Demiralay, K. Hinkelmann, C. Weiller, H. R. Siebner, and A. Munchau Abnormal excitability of premotor-motor connections in de novo Parkinson's disease Brain, December 1, 2004; 127(12): 2732 - 2746. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 V. Rizzo, H. R. Siebner, N. Modugno, A. Pesenti, A. Munchau, W. Gerschlager, R. M. Webb, and J. C. Rothwell Shaping the excitability of human motor cortex with premotor rTMS J. Physiol., January 15, 2004; 554(2): 483 - 495. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. Foldvary-Schaefer and T. Falcone Catamenial epilepsy: Pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management Neurology, September 1, 2003; 61(90062): S2 - 15. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. B Pitcher, K. M Ogston, and T. S Miles Age and sex differences in human motor cortex input-output characteristics J. Physiol., January 15, 2003; 546(2): 605 - 613. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 F.-C. Hsu and S. S. Smith Progesterone Withdrawal Reduces Paired-Pulse Inhibition in Rat Hippocampus: Dependence on GABAA Receptor alpha 4 Subunit Upregulation J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2003; 89(1): 186 - 198. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Tassorelli, G. Sandrini, A. P. Cecchini, R. E. Nappi, G. Sances, and E. Martignoni Changes in Nociceptive Flexion Reflex Threshold Across the Menstrual Cycle in Healthy Women Psychosom Med, July 1, 2002; 64(4): 621 - 626. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
V. Bohotin, A. Fumal, M Vandenheede, P. Gerard, C. Bohotin, A. Maertens de Noordhout, and J. Schoenen Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on visual evoked potentials in migraine Brain, April 1, 2002; 125(4): 912 - 922. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 W. H. James The data sources which may help strengthen the epidemiological evidence for the hormonal hypothesis of sex determination in man Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2001; 16(6): 1081 - 1085. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. S. Briellmann, S. F. Berkovic, and G. D. Jackson Men may be more vulnerable to seizure-associated brain damage Neurology, November 28, 2000; 55(10): 1479 - 1485. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
