Brain's Reward Circuit Activity Ebbs And Flows With A Woman's Hormonal Cycle

... Fluctuations in sex hormone levels during women's menstrual cycles affect the responsiveness of their brains' reward circuitry, an imaging study has revealed. While women were winning rewards, their circuitry was more active if they were in a menstrual phase preceding ovulation and dominated by estrogen, compared to a phase when estrogen and progesterone are present. These first pictures of sex hormones influencing reward-evoked brain activity in humans may provide insights into mood and anxiety disorders. ...