Neuroscience 2005 Abstract
| Presentation Number: | 410.7 |
|---|---|
| Abstract Title: | Changes in regional grey matter volume over the course of the human menstrual cycle: a voxel-based morphometry MRI study. |
| Authors: |
Furman, D.*1
; Meyer-Lindenberg, A.1
; Schmidt, P.2
; Kohn, P.1
; Rubinow, D.2
; Berman, K. F.1
1Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, National Inst. of Mental Health/NIH/DHHS, Bethesda, MD 2Behavioral Endocrinology Branch, National Inst. of Mental Health/NIH/DHHS, Bethesda, MD |
| Primary Theme and Topics |
Cognition and Behavior - Human Cognition, Behavior, and Anatomy -- Anatomy |
| Secondary Theme and Topics | Cognition and Behavior<br />- Human Cognition, Behavior, and Anatomy<br />-- Emotion |
| Session: |
410. Anatomy and Individual Differences Poster |
| Presentation Time: | Monday, November 14, 2005 10:00 AM-11:00 AM |
| Location: | Washington Convention Center - Hall A-C, Board # EE20 |
| Keywords: | ESTROGEN, NEUROIMAGING, AMYGDALA, FRONTAL CORTEX |
In rats, cyclically fluctuating levels of gonadal hormones have been shown to modulate dendritic spine and synaptic density (Cooke & Woolley 2005; Woolley 2000). Furthermore, primate data point to an effect of estrogen on spine and synaptic density in the prefrontal cortex (Tang et al. 2004). While similar studies cannot readily be carried out in the living human brain, neuroimaging offers a means of investigating the effects of changing hormonal environments upon human neuroanatomy. In the current study, seven pre-menopausal woman between the ages of 22 and 40 were scanned once during the follicular phase (days 4-8 after menses) and once during the luteal phase (days 6-10 after the luteinizing hormone surge) of their menstrual cycles. High resolution (0.94 x 0.94 x 1.2mm) structural MRI scans were acquired on a 3-Tesla GE Scanner using an MP-RAGE sequence with 124 sagittal slices. Optimized voxel-based morphometry analysis (Good et al. 2001) revealed increased grey matter volume in an area of subgenual cingulate (BA 25; x,y,z = -2,16,-21) during the follicular phase compared with luteal phase scans. Conversely, during the luteal phase an area slightly inferior to left amygdala (x,y,z = -25,-3,-31) showed increased grey matter volume. While the exact neurobiological meaning of these findings remains to be elucidated, our first result (described above) is of particular interest in light of recent findings (Mayberg et al. 2005; Pezaws and Meyer-Lindenberg et al. 2005) regarding the role of the subgenual cingulate in regulating mood and depression. Our findings are complimented by functional imaging data demonstrating differential reward-related activation over the course of the menstrual cycle in orbital frontal cortex and amygdala, areas immediately adjacent to those found in the current study (Dreher et al. 2005, SFN abstract).
Supported by NIMH/IRP/NIH/DHHS
Sample Citation:
[Authors]. [Abstract Title]. Program No. XXX.XX. 2005 Neuroscience Meeting Planner. Washington, DC: Society for Neuroscience, 2005. Online.
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