{"entity": "researcher", "timestamp": "2026-05-12T21:33:53.566Z", "family": "Derntl", "given": "Birgit", "initials": "B", "orcid": "0000-0003-0133-4486", "affiliations": [], "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/5665196138234baaa2a6144a6098a3fa.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/5665196138234baaa2a6144a6098a3fa"}}, "publications": [{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "8d56a52571f14612adf2eab2250a8bcb", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/8d56a52571f14612adf2eab2250a8bcb.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/8d56a52571f14612adf2eab2250a8bcb"}}, "title": "Longitudinal development of sex differences in the limbic system is associated with age, puberty and mental health.", "authors": [{"family": "Matte Bon", "given": "Gloria", "initials": "G", "orcid": "0000-0002-1770-1765", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/a859233554d34ade8487ef76591302a4.json"}}, {"family": "Walther", "given": "Jonas", "initials": "J", "orcid": "0009-0009-2227-6378", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/206bdcc1205a4a6ebb7c093b99c74885.json"}}, {"family": "Comasco", "given": "Erika", "initials": "E"}, {"family": "Derntl", "given": "Birgit", "initials": "B", "orcid": "0000-0003-0133-4486", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/5665196138234baaa2a6144a6098a3fa.json"}}, {"family": "Kaufmann", "given": "Tobias", "initials": "T", "orcid": "0000-0002-4003-1018", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/066255c20da945f78248d804d270765e.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2025-11-05", "journal": {"title": "Commun Biol", "issn": "2399-3642", "volume": "8", "issue": "1", "pages": "1524", "issn-l": "2399-3642"}, "abstract": "Sex differences in mental health become more evident across adolescence, with a two-fold increase of prevalence of mood disorders in females compared to males. The brain underpinnings remain understudied. Here, we investigated the role of age, puberty and mental health in determining the longitudinal development of sex differences in brain structure. We captured sex differences in limbic and non-limbic structures using machine learning models trained in cross-sectional brain imaging data of 1132 youths, yielding limbic and non-limbic estimates of brain sex. Applied to two independent longitudinal samples (total: 8184 youths), our models revealed pronounced sex differences in brain structure with increasing age. For females, brain sex was sensitive to pubertal development (menarche) over time and, for limbic structures, to mood-related mental health. Our findings highlight the limbic system as a key contributor to the development of sex differences in the brain and the potential of machine learning models for brain sex classification to investigate sex-specific processes relevant to mental health.", "doi": "10.1038/s42003-025-08866-3", "pmid": "41193617", "labels": {"Erika Comasco": null, "SciLifeLab Fellow": null}, "xrefs": [{"db": "pii", "key": "10.1038/s42003-025-08866-3"}], "notes": [], "created": "2025-11-06T11:44:50.581Z", "modified": "2025-11-06T11:44:50.726Z"}, {"entity": "publication", "iuid": "44bf7617d6b5480ab8b48a5f35ffd675", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/44bf7617d6b5480ab8b48a5f35ffd675.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/44bf7617d6b5480ab8b48a5f35ffd675"}}, "title": "Subjective, behavioural and physiological correlates of stress in women using hormonal contraceptives.", "authors": [{"family": "B\u00fcrger", "given": "Zo\u00e9", "initials": "Z", "orcid": "0000-0003-4597-0425", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/907b16865ddc43cb93d67781f7864938.json"}}, {"family": "Kordowich", "given": "Charlotte", "initials": "C"}, {"family": "K\u00fcbbeler", "given": "Julia", "initials": "J"}, {"family": "M\u00fcllersch\u00f6n", "given": "Carolin", "initials": "C"}, {"family": "Kimmig", "given": "Ann-Christin S", "initials": "AS", "orcid": "0000-0002-8353-6593", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/e3ee0f1b0d0b4ebd9c9e66b4850b6600.json"}}, {"family": "Su", "given": "Min", "initials": "M"}, {"family": "L\u00e4mmerhofer", "given": "Michael", "initials": "M"}, {"family": "Sacher", "given": "Julia", "initials": "J", "orcid": "0000-0003-0944-0558", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/eb8f8d3839014e83b43723c55ad8d1d2.json"}}, {"family": "Henes", "given": "Melanie", "initials": "M"}, {"family": "Comasco", "given": "Erika", "initials": "E", "orcid": "0000-0002-2174-2068", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/4f10cd12fd8e4c529264697930ac87b7.json"}}, {"family": "Derntl", "given": "Birgit", "initials": "B", "orcid": "0000-0003-0133-4486", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/5665196138234baaa2a6144a6098a3fa.json"}}, {"family": "Kogler", "given": "Lydia", "initials": "L", "orcid": "0000-0002-9493-2321", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/4d502b7c4fd64f6294534374793fb03e.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2025-06-00", "journal": {"title": "Br J Psychiatry", "issn": "1472-1465", "volume": "226", "issue": "6", "pages": "392-400", "issn-l": null}, "abstract": "Stress, a major risk factor for mental health problems, is influenced by hormonal fluctuations from the menstrual cycle and hormonal oral contraceptives (OC). Despite widespread use, the impact of hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs) on stress is limited to one study.\n\nThis study examines psychoendocrine stress responses in women using IUDs, OCs and women with a natural, regular menstrual cycle (NC) to better understand how endogenous and exogenous hormones influence stress.\n\nUsing a repeated-measures design, we investigated stress responses in IUD and OC users and NC women. The Maastricht Acute Stress Task and its control task were applied twice within 4 months to assess subjective, endocrine and physiological stress correlates. Detailed endogenous and exogenous hormonal profiles were obtained, and women completed a 7-day diary (via ecological momentary assessment) after each appointment.\n\nBased on subjective, physiological and cortisol responses, stress induction was successful in all groups. IUD users reported higher subjective stress, negative affect and anxiety and lower positive affect compared to NC women. OC users exhibited a blunted cortisol response and higher heart rate but reported less acute stress and negative emotions than the other groups in the 7-day diary. Oestradiol and progesterone were suppressed in OC and IUD users compared with NC women. Progesterone, testosterone and oestradiol were differently associated with skin conductance, socio-emotional stress and negative affect.\n\nIUD and OC use distinctly affect stress response, possibly because of their diverging metabolic pathways and hormone levels. IUD users showed higher emotional reactivity to stress in both lab and daily life, while OCs influenced physiological correlates. These findings highlight that exogenous hormone administration, previously thought to have limited systemic effects, affects women's psychological well-being, underscoring the need for further research into stress-related disorders among women using hormonal contraceptives.", "doi": "10.1192/bjp.2025.7", "pmid": "40511505", "labels": {"SciLifeLab Fellow": null, "Erika Comasco": null}, "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC12257283"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "S0007125025000078"}], "notes": [], "created": "2025-07-24T19:47:04.097Z", "modified": "2025-07-24T19:47:42.952Z"}, {"entity": "publication", "iuid": "a33ec693db284d85ad002b6783fa95d2", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/a33ec693db284d85ad002b6783fa95d2.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/a33ec693db284d85ad002b6783fa95d2"}}, "title": "Menstrual cycle-related changes in the human brain", "authors": [{"family": "Pletzer", "given": "Belinda", "initials": "B"}, {"family": "Comasco", "given": "Erika", "initials": "E", "orcid": "0000-0002-2174-2068", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/4f10cd12fd8e4c529264697930ac87b7.json"}}, {"family": "Hidalgo-Lopez", "given": "Esmeralda", "initials": "E"}, {"family": "Kimmig", "given": "Ann Christin S", "initials": "ACS"}, {"family": "Sundstr\u00f6m-Poromaa", "given": "Inger", "initials": "I"}, {"family": "Derntl", "given": "Birgit", "initials": "B", "orcid": "0000-0003-0133-4486", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/5665196138234baaa2a6144a6098a3fa.json"}}], "type": "book-chapter", "published": "2025-00-00", "journal": {"title": null, "issn": null, "issn-l": null, "volume": null, "issue": null, "pages": "604-623"}, "abstract": null, "doi": "10.1016/b978-0-12-820480-1.00151-0", "pmid": null, "labels": {"Erika Comasco": null, "SciLifeLab Fellow": null}, "xrefs": [], "notes": [], "created": "2024-11-14T10:51:29.598Z", "modified": "2025-03-26T11:39:46.941Z"}, {"entity": "publication", "iuid": "71cb388a0b3d4565810dfad345f35889", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/71cb388a0b3d4565810dfad345f35889.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/71cb388a0b3d4565810dfad345f35889"}}, "title": "Modeling brain sex in the limbic system as phenotype for female-prevalent mental disorders.", "authors": [{"family": "Matte Bon", "given": "Gloria", "initials": "G", "orcid": "0000-0002-1770-1765", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/a859233554d34ade8487ef76591302a4.json"}}, {"family": "Kraft", "given": "Dominik", "initials": "D", "orcid": "0000-0002-4964-2237", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/78cee0da36b645b6afeafa76087fe06a.json"}}, {"family": "Comasco", "given": "Erika", "initials": "E", "orcid": "0000-0002-2174-2068", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/4f10cd12fd8e4c529264697930ac87b7.json"}}, {"family": "Derntl", "given": "Birgit", "initials": "B", "orcid": "0000-0003-0133-4486", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/5665196138234baaa2a6144a6098a3fa.json"}}, {"family": "Kaufmann", "given": "Tobias", "initials": "T", "orcid": "0000-0002-4003-1018", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/066255c20da945f78248d804d270765e.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2024-05-15", "journal": {"title": "Biol Sex Differ", "issn": "2042-6410", "volume": "15", "issue": "1", "pages": "42", "issn-l": "2042-6410"}, "abstract": "Sex differences exist in the prevalence and clinical manifestation of several mental disorders, suggesting that sex-specific brain phenotypes may play key roles. Previous research used machine learning models to classify sex from imaging data of the whole brain and studied the association of class probabilities with mental health, potentially overlooking regional specific characteristics.\n\nWe here investigated if a regionally constrained model of brain volumetric imaging data may provide estimates that are more sensitive to mental health than whole brain-based estimates. Given its known role in emotional processing and mood disorders, we focused on the limbic system. Using two different cohorts of healthy subjects, the Human Connectome Project and the Queensland Twin IMaging, we investigated sex differences and heritability of brain volumes of limbic structures compared to non-limbic structures, and subsequently applied regionally constrained machine learning models trained solely on limbic or non-limbic features. To investigate the biological underpinnings of such models, we assessed the heritability of the obtained sex class probability estimates, and we investigated the association with major depression diagnosis in an independent clinical sample. All analyses were performed both with and without controlling for estimated total intracranial volume (eTIV).\n\nLimbic structures show greater sex differences and are more heritable compared to non-limbic structures in both analyses, with and without eTIV control. Consequently, machine learning models performed well at classifying sex based solely on limbic structures and achieved performance as high as those on non-limbic or whole brain data, despite the much smaller number of features in the limbic system. The resulting class probabilities were heritable, suggesting potentially meaningful underlying biological information. Applied to an independent population with major depressive disorder, we found that depression is associated with male-female class probabilities, with largest effects obtained using the limbic model. This association was significant for models not controlling for eTIV whereas in those controlling for eTIV the associations did not pass significance correction.\n\nOverall, our results highlight the potential utility of regionally constrained models of brain sex to better understand the link between sex differences in the brain and mental disorders.", "doi": "10.1186/s13293-024-00615-1", "pmid": "38750598", "labels": {"Erika Comasco": null, "SciLifeLab Fellow": null}, "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC11097569"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "10.1186/s13293-024-00615-1"}], "notes": [], "created": "2024-10-24T08:50:39.738Z", "modified": "2024-10-24T08:53:40.301Z"}, {"entity": "publication", "iuid": "f25e8dc7c1604e0a93976e3e0bd42469", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/f25e8dc7c1604e0a93976e3e0bd42469.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/f25e8dc7c1604e0a93976e3e0bd42469"}}, "title": "Neuroimaging the menstrual cycle: A multimodal systematic review.", "authors": [{"family": "Dubol", "given": "Manon", "initials": "M"}, {"family": "Epperson", "given": "C Neill", "initials": "CN"}, {"family": "Sacher", "given": "Julia", "initials": "J"}, {"family": "Pletzer", "given": "Belinda", "initials": "B"}, {"family": "Derntl", "given": "Birgit", "initials": "B", "orcid": "0000-0003-0133-4486", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/5665196138234baaa2a6144a6098a3fa.json"}}, {"family": "Lanzenberger", "given": "Rupert", "initials": "R"}, {"family": "Sundstr\u00f6m-Poromaa", "given": "Inger", "initials": "I"}, {"family": "Comasco", "given": "Erika", "initials": "E", "orcid": "0000-0002-2174-2068", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/4f10cd12fd8e4c529264697930ac87b7.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2021-01-00", "journal": {"title": "Front Neuroendocrinol", "issn": "1095-6808", "issn-l": "0091-3022", "volume": "60", "issue": null, "pages": "100878"}, "abstract": "Increasing evidence indicates that ovarian hormones affect brain structure, chemistry and function of women in their reproductive age, potentially shaping their behavior and mental health. Throughout the reproductive years, estrogens and progesterone levels fluctuate across the menstrual cycle and can modulate neural circuits involved in affective and cognitive processes. Here, we review seventy-seven neuroimaging studies and provide a comprehensive and data-driven evaluation of the accumulating evidence on brain plasticity associated with endogenous ovarian hormone fluctuations in naturally cycling women (n = 1304). The results particularly suggest modulatory effects of ovarian hormones fluctuations on the reactivity and structure of cortico-limbic brain regions. These findings highlight the importance of performing multimodal neuroimaging studies on neural correlates of systematic ovarian hormone fluctuations in naturally cycling women based on careful menstrual cycle staging.", "doi": "10.1016/j.yfrne.2020.100878", "pmid": "33098847", "labels": {"Erika Comasco": null, "SciLifeLab Fellow": null}, "xrefs": [{"db": "pii", "key": "S0091-3022(20)30069-8"}], "notes": [], "created": "2020-11-20T09:21:40.958Z", "modified": "2024-10-24T08:55:29.197Z"}]}