‘The brain has always fascinated me,’ says Cathelijne. ‘It's so complex, and we still know so little about it that there's a lot of knowledge to be gained.’ After studying Developmental Psychology and Biomedical Technology in Eindhoven, she decided to focus on neuroscience and did her master's degree at Radboud University. ‘Even before this master's program, I knew I wanted to do something related to women's studies and hormones. Radboud University gave me that opportunity.’
Ricardo studied Biomedical Sciences and became involved with the lab through a previous internship. ‘I immediately liked the idea of this research. There is still so much unknown about what hormones do in the female brain; it's lagging far behind. By researching exactly that, I feel that I can really contribute something to science.’
It's easy to guess why this research is so far behind. ‘Because we live in a male-dominated society,’ says Cathelijne. ‘Women were long excluded from research because it was considered too complicated due to too many hormone fluctuations. But those are precisely what make it interesting.’
Five women, a lot of data
Cathelijne and Ricardo studied five women throughout an entire cycle, thirty days long, for their Menstrual Mind project, which yielded a dataset that is unique in its kind. ‘We wanted to know: what changes in the brain when emotions fluctuate throughout the cycle?’ Cathelijne explains. ‘Many women say they feel different just before their period—more emotional, more irritable. But we still know very little about what exactly changes in the brain.’
The participants came to the lab every other day. They performed emotional tasks in an MRI scanner while their brain activity was measured. ‘For example, we showed them happy or sad faces and asked them to feel as happy or sad as possible,’ says Ricardo. ‘We were then able to measure what was happening in the brain and whether this corresponded to how they said they felt.’
In addition, their hormone levels were measured via morning urine. ‘The idea was to look at what happened during a cycle within one woman and not just compare between women,’ says Cathelijne. ‘Every cycle is different. If you take averages across groups, you lose those unique patterns.’
More than a dataset
The experiment yielded a huge amount of data, which Cathelijne and Ricardo are now writing a scientific article about. Ricardo: ‘But it's so much that it's almost impossible for two people to analyze everything themselves.’ That's why they want to try something new: an international data challenge.
‘We are making our dataset public and inviting research groups from all over the world to analyze the data,’ he explains. ‘Whoever develops the best method wins the challenge. They get the opportunity to work with this unique dataset – and, of course, the credit for the best method. In this way, we are bringing together a network of researchers that we can continue to work with in the future. That is our goal.’
Cathelijne adds: ‘We really want to encourage collaboration; it's not just about prestige. In this field, many people still work in isolation. A challenge like this can break through that.’
‘We're not crazy’
Both researchers are highly motivated to investigate this topic. Cathelijne: ‘I know so many women, including myself, who wonder every month whether they are overreacting. Why do we feel this way? I want to show that something really happens in your brain during your cycle. I want to measure what millions of women have known for a long time: their cycle affects how they feel. If we can demonstrate that there are real, measurable changes in the brain, women can finally stop wondering if they are crazy. The answer is: No, you are not crazy. Your brain is responding to your hormones.’
Ricardo confirms this: ‘If we understand better what is happening physiologically, we can hopefully help better. No longer saying, ‘That's just part of it,’ but looking for what's behind it. We want a better understanding of hormone-related symptoms to improve women's health through personalized diagnosis and treatment.’
Dream for the future
Meanwhile, the young researchers continue to dream. ‘We would like to do a follow-up study with more women,’ says Ricardo. ‘Five is a good start, but twenty would say a lot more about possible differences between different women.’
And who knows, maybe one day there will be an institute for female brain research. ‘That's my dream for the distant future,’ Cathelijne laughs. ‘That we really do structural research into women's physiology, from cycles to migraines to mental health. If we can contribute to women experiencing more happy days in their lives, then my mission will have been accomplished.’
Would you like to contribute to Menstrual Mind and help build the network that Cathelijne and Ricardo have in mind? Donate to the Radboud Fund. This will support scientists like Cathelijne and Ricardo and enable them to continue their research. Follow Menstrual Mind on LinkedIn for updates.