Each time a lady experiences shifts in intercourse hormones—as occurs in puberty, with the month-to-month menstrual cycle, throughout being pregnant, throughout postpartum, and earlier than and after menopause—there are modifications in neurotransmitters (which affect temper) and neurosteroids. Neurosteroids have an effect on how neurons hearth within the mind, and so they’re thought to play a job within the growth of main despair, post-traumatic stress dysfunction, premenstrual dysphoric dysfunction (PMDD), and postpartum despair.