• Bo Liu, Guangbin Wang, Dongmei Gao, Fei Gao, Bin Zhao, Mingqi Qiao, Huan Yang, Yanhong Yu, Fuxin Ren, Ping Yang, Weibo Chen, and Caroline D Rae.
• Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, No. 324, Jingwu Road, 250021 Jinan, PR China.
• Psychiatry Res. 2015 Jan 30; 231 (1): 64-70.

AbstractIncreasing evidence has suggested that the GABAergic neurotransmitter system is involved in the pathogenesis of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) to investigate whether PMDD is associated with alterations in brain GABA levels. Levels of glutamate-glutamine (Glx) were also explored. Participants comprised 22 women with PMDD and 22 age-matched healthy controls who underwent 3T (1)H MRS during the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. GABA+ and Glx levels were quantified in the anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex (ACC/mPFC) and the left basal ganglia (ltBG). Water-scaled GABA+ concentrations and GABA+/tCr ratios were significantly lower in both the ACC/mPFC and ltBG regions of PMDD women than in healthy controls. Glx/tCr ratios were significantly higher in the ACC/mPFC region of PMDD women than healthy controls. Our preliminary findings provide the first report of abnormal levels of GABA+ and Glx in mood-related brain regions of women with PMDD, indicating that dysregulation of the amino acid neurotransmitter system may be an important neurobiological mechanism in the pathogenesis of PMDD.Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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