Normonal changes during the menstrual cycle have no impact on aspects of cognition, study shows
- Source: Frontiers
- Summary:
- It has long been assumed that your period affects your brain's performance. A new study set out to determine whether changes in hormones during the menstrual cycle really do change how well brains work. By increasing the sample size and following participants over more than one menstrual cycle, they found evidence that your brain's performance isn't affected by your cycle.
FULL STORY
Levels of estrogen, progesterone
and testosterone in one's system have no impact on the working memory,
cognitive bias or ability to pay attention to two things at once.
Credit: © Creative-Touch / Fotolia
A new study published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
is setting out to change the way we think about the menstrual cycle.
While it's often been assumed that anyone who's menstruating isn't
working at top mental pitch, Professor Brigitte Leeners and her team of
researchers have found evidence to suggest that that's not the case.
They examined three aspects of cognition across two menstrual cycles,
and found that the levels of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone in
your system have no impact on your working memory, cognitive bias or
ability to pay attention to two things at once. While some hormones were
associated with changes across one cycle in some of the women taking
part, these effects didn't repeat in the following cycle. Overall, none
of the hormones the team studied had any replicable, consistent effect
on study participants' cognition.
Professor Leeners, team lead, said: "As a specialist in reproductive
medicine and a psychotherapist, I deal with many women who have the
impression that the menstrual cycle influences their well-being and
cognitive performance." Wondering if this anecdotal evidence could be
scientifically proven -- and questioning the methodology of many
existing studies on the subject -- the team set out to shed some light
on this controversial topic.
The study published today uses a much larger sample than usual, and (unlike most similar studies) follows women across two consecutive menstrual cycles. The team, working from the Medical School Hannover and University Hospital Zürich, recruited 68 women to undergo detailed monitoring to investigate changes in three selected cognitive processes at different stages in the menstrual cycle. While analysis of the results from the first cycle suggested that cognitive bias and attention were affected, these results weren't replicated in the second cycle. The team looked for differences in performance between individuals and changes in individuals' performance over time, and found none.
Professor Leeners said, "The hormonal changes related to the menstrual cycle do not show any association with cognitive performance. Although there might be individual exceptions, women's cognitive performance is in general not disturbed by hormonal changes occurring with the menstrual cycle."
Professor Leeners cautions, however, that there's more work to do. While this study represents a meaningful step forward, larger samples, bigger subsamples of women with hormone disorders, and further cognitive tests would provide a fuller picture of the way that the menstrual cycle affects the brain. In the meantime, Professor Leeners hopes her team's work will start the long process of changing minds about menstruation.
The study published today uses a much larger sample than usual, and (unlike most similar studies) follows women across two consecutive menstrual cycles. The team, working from the Medical School Hannover and University Hospital Zürich, recruited 68 women to undergo detailed monitoring to investigate changes in three selected cognitive processes at different stages in the menstrual cycle. While analysis of the results from the first cycle suggested that cognitive bias and attention were affected, these results weren't replicated in the second cycle. The team looked for differences in performance between individuals and changes in individuals' performance over time, and found none.
Professor Leeners said, "The hormonal changes related to the menstrual cycle do not show any association with cognitive performance. Although there might be individual exceptions, women's cognitive performance is in general not disturbed by hormonal changes occurring with the menstrual cycle."
Professor Leeners cautions, however, that there's more work to do. While this study represents a meaningful step forward, larger samples, bigger subsamples of women with hormone disorders, and further cognitive tests would provide a fuller picture of the way that the menstrual cycle affects the brain. In the meantime, Professor Leeners hopes her team's work will start the long process of changing minds about menstruation.
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