Amazing stuff!
Except the female journalist (a woman) uses insults like "People who menstruate"!
"... In particular, just before ovulation, when the hormones 17β-estradiol and luteinizing hormone rise, the brains of the participants showed white matter changes suggesting faster information transfer.
Follicle-stimulating hormone, which rises before ovulation, and helps stimulate the ovary follicles, was associated with thicker gray matter.
Progesterone, which rises after ovulation, was associated with increased tissue and decreased cerebrospinal fluid volume. ..."
From the abstract:
"Cyclic fluctuations in hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG-axis) hormones exert powerful behavioral, structural, and functional effects through actions on the mammalian central nervous system. Yet, very little is known about how these fluctuations alter the structural nodes and information highways of the human brain. In a study of 30 naturally cycling women, we employed multidimensional diffusion and T1-weighted imaging during three estimated menstrual cycle phases (menses, ovulation, mid-luteal) to investigate whether HPG-axis hormone concentrations co-fluctuate with alterations in white matter (WM) microstructure, cortical thickness (CT), and brain volume. Across the whole brain, 17β-estradiol and luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations were directly proportional to diffusion anisotropy (μFA), while follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) was directly proportional to cortical thickness. Within several individual regions, FSH and progesterone demonstrated opposing associations with mean diffusivity and cortical thickness. These regions mainly reside within the temporal and occipital lobes, with functional implications for the limbic and visual systems. Lastly, progesterone was associated with increased tissue and decreased CSF volumes, with total brain volume remaining unchanged. These results are the first to report simultaneous brain-wide changes in human WM microstructure and cortical thickness coinciding with menstrual cycle-driven hormone rhythms. Strong brain-hormone interaction effects may not be limited to classically known HPG-axis receptor-dense regions."
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