Cortical activation during menopausal hot flashes Robert R. Freedman, Ph.D., Mark D. Benton, Richard J. Genik, Ph.D., Francis X. Graydon, Ph.D.  Fertility and Sterility  Volume 85, Issue 3, Pages 674-678 (March 2006) DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2005.08.026 Copyright © 2006 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions

FIGURE 1 Time course of the skin conductance response (SCL) measure for (A) a representative hot flash symptomatic subject and (B) an asymptomatic control subject. The periods of interest used in the fMRI data analysis are demarcated below the plots. Freedman. fMRI of hot flashes. Fertil Steril 2006. Fertility and Sterility 2006 85, 674-678DOI: (10.1016/j.fertnstert.2005.08.026) Copyright © 2006 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions

FIGURE 2 The statistical parametric maps (SPMs) generated for the two groups for the onset of the hot flash and sweating (i.e., the initial 20-s onset period compared to the 20-s preonset period) are shown. The SPMs or activation maps, are based on superimposing the regions of activation we identified at P<.001 (uncorrected) in each group onto the canonical T1-weighted anatomic image from the SPM2 software package. (A) The regions of activation associated with the onset of the hot flash in the symptomatic women included the insula and anterior cingulate. (B) Sweating in the control subjects involved the anterior cingulate and superior frontal gyrus. (C) The comparison of the two groups revealed greater activation in the anterior insula in the symptomatic hot flash subjects relative to the asymptomatic control group. ins = insula; acc = anterior cingulate; sfg = superior frontal gyrus. Freedman. fMRI of hot flashes. Fertil Steril 2006. Fertility and Sterility 2006 85, 674-678DOI: (10.1016/j.fertnstert.2005.08.026) Copyright © 2006 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions