Human menstrual cycle variation in subcortical functional brain connectivity: a multimodal analysis approach.

ABSTRACT: Increasing evidence suggests that endogenous sex steroid changes affect human brain functional connectivity, which could be obtained by resting-state fMRI (RS-fMRI). Nevertheless, RS studies on the menstrual cycle (MC) are underrepresented and yield inconsistent results. We attribute these inconsistencies to the use of various methods in exploratory approaches and small sample sizes. Hormonal fluctuations along the MC likely elicit subtle changes that, however, may still have profound impact on network dynamics when affecting key brain nodes. To address these issues, we propose a ROI-based multimodal analysis approach focusing on areas of high functional relevance to adequately capture these changes. To that end, sixty naturally cycling women underwent RS-fMRI in three different cycle phas

SUBMITTER: Hidalgo-Lopez E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7046575 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature