Progesterone blurs emotional-control brain patterns on MRI, tied to mood

Higher progesterone levels hamper the brain's ability to distinguish emotional-control tasks on functional MRI, accounting for 7% of mood variation. This mechanism, shown in the lateral frontal pole, may explain menstrual mood fluctuations.

• Machine learning analysis of 116 naturally cycling women performing an emotional-control task revealed less distinct brain activity patterns as progesterone rose.
• The effect was most pronounced in the lateral frontal pole, a region key to cognitive and emotional processing.
• The finding may eventually illuminate hormone-related mood disorders such as premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

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