Neurophysiopathology of Pain Unit, Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences Department, Bari Aldo Moro University, Neurological Building, Policlinico General Hospital, Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2011 Oct;15(5):400-6. doi: 10.1007/s11916-011-0207-1.
Sexual hormones influence complex brain function and pain perception. Many psychophysical studies attempted to establish pain perception changes across menstrual cycle in animal models and healthy women or those with chronic pain. General results are quite uncertain in regard to consistent menstrual-related fluctuations of pain perception. The few studies applying neurophysiological procedures to test pain-related changes during menstrual cycle suggested a fluctuation of central modulation of pain across phases, with a prevalence of excitatory versus inhibitory control in the premenstrual period, which may explain the cyclic worsening of many syndromes, such as migraine. Whatever is the relevance of menstrual cycle on individual painful symptoms, it should be accepted as one of the numerous factors influencing mechanisms of neuromodulation.
性激素会影响复杂的大脑功能和疼痛感知。许多心理物理学研究试图在动物模型以及健康女性或慢性疼痛患者中确定月经周期内疼痛感知的变化。一般来说，关于疼痛感知是否存在一致的月经相关波动，研究结果还不太确定。少数应用神经生理学程序来测试月经周期期间与疼痛相关的变化的研究表明，疼痛的中枢调节在各阶段存在波动，在经前期以兴奋性控制为主，而在卵泡期以抑制性控制为主，这可能解释了许多综合征（如偏头痛）的周期性恶化。无论月经周期对个体疼痛症状的相关性如何，都应该将其视为影响神经调制机制的众多因素之一。
