Response to sertraline is associated with reduction in anxiety-potentiated startle in premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Rationale: Women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) appear to have altered central nervous system sensitivity to neuroactive steroid hormones, manifesting as affective symptoms and heightened arousal in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. In particular, women with PMDD appear less sensitive to allopregnanolone, a positive allosteric GABA-A receptor (GABA-A-R) modulator.

Objectives: This study evaluated psychophysiologic reactivity in women with PMDD in the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle, utilizing anxiety-potentiated startle (APS), a potential translational marker of GABA-A-R sensitivity.