Why menstrual cycle irregularities belong in brain research

Carina Heller^{1

2

3

4}, Erynn Christensen⁵, Elle M Murata⁶, Nicole Petersen⁷, Kathleen Casto⁸, Shae Datta^{9

10}, Bart Larsen^{11

12}, Hector Arciniega^{10

13}

Affiliations

¹ Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. cheller@umn.edu.
² Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. cheller@umn.edu.
³ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA. cheller@umn.edu.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany. cheller@umn.edu.
⁵ Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁸ Kent State University, Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent, OH, USA.
⁹ Department of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁰ NYU Langone Concussion Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
¹¹ Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
¹² Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
¹³ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.

Carina Heller et al. Nat Med. 2025.

. 2025 Aug 13.

doi: 10.1038/s41591-025-03879-1. Online ahead of print.

Carina Heller^{1

2

3

4}, Erynn Christensen⁵, Elle M Murata⁶, Nicole Petersen⁷, Kathleen Casto⁸, Shae Datta^{9

10}, Bart Larsen^{11

12}, Hector Arciniega^{10

13}

¹ Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. cheller@umn.edu.
² Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. cheller@umn.edu.
³ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA. cheller@umn.edu.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany. cheller@umn.edu.
⁵ Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁸ Kent State University, Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent, OH, USA.
⁹ Department of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁰ NYU Langone Concussion Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
¹¹ Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
¹² Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
¹³ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.

No abstract available

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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