Murata, E. M. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2026

Neurobiological Signatures of Endometriosis: Characterizing Pain, Cognition, and Brain Morphology

Endometriosis affects approximately 10% of reproductive-age women worldwide and is associated with substantial pain and mental health burden, yet its neurobiological correlates remain poorly characterized. Neuroimaging studies of endometriosis are particularly limited. Here we present a comprehensive, multidimensional investigation of the neurobiology of endometriosis, integrating structural and diffusion neuroimaging, biofluid measures, neuropsychological testing, and detailed health and psychosocial phenotyping in individuals with and without endometriosis. Compared with controls, individuals with endometriosis exhibited higher levels of pain, depression, and anxiety and performed worse across multiple cognitive domains. Global and regional brain morphometric measures did not differ between groups; however, endometriosis-specific pain was associated with altered gray matter volume and white matter microstructure across distributed pain-related neural circuits. These findings identify pain-related neurobiological signatures of endometriosis and establish a foundation for mechanistic and translational studies of its central nervous system effects.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Circadian rhythms tied to changes in brain morphology in a densely-sampled male

Circadian, infradian, and seasonal changes in steroid hormone secretion have been tied to changes in brain volume in several mammalian species. However, the relationship between circadian changes in steroid hormone production and rhythmic changes in brain morphology in humans is largely unknown. Here, we examined the relationship between diurnal fluctuations in steroid hormones and multiscale brain morphology in a precision imaging study of a male who completed forty MRI and serological assessments at 7 A.M. and 8 P.M. over the course of a month, targeting hormone concentrations at their peak and nadir. Diurnal fluctuations in steroid hormones were tied to pronounced changes in global and regional brain morphology. From morning to evening, total brain volume, gray matter volume, and cortical thickness decreased, coincident with decreases in steroid hormone concentrations (testosterone, estradiol, and cortisol). In parallel, cerebrospinal fluid and ventricle size increased from A.M. to P.M. Global changes were driven by decreases within the occipital and parietal cortices. These findings highlight natural rhythms in brain morphology that keep time with the diurnal ebb and flow of steroid hormones. Significance StatementThough rhythmic changes in steroid hormone secretion have been tied to changes in brain volume in several mammalian species, this relationship has not been well characterized in humans. In this precision neuroimaging study, we found that global and regional brain morphology and steroid hormone levels exhibit tandem circadian rhythms. These findings provide high-resolution insight into the anatomical signature of diurnal changes in brain morphology and steroid hormone production in a human male and reveal the metronomic regularity of these rhythms over time.

neuroscience↗