Menstruation doesn't change how your brain works

  • A largish study for its type indicates that hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle have no impact on working memory, multitasking ability, or cognitive bias.

A study involving 88 women, some of whom had endocrinological disorders, has found that, while some hormones were associated with changes across one menstrual cycle in some of the women taking part, these effects didn't repeat in the following cycle. In other words, there was no consistent effect of hormonal changes on cognition. This is not to say that some individuals might not be consistently affected, just that it doesn’t appear to be a general rule.

While the number of participants isn’t huge, it is considerably larger than is common in these sort of studies. The replication across two cycles is particularly important, since if the researchers had settled for just looking at one cycle, they would have concluded that there was an effect on cognition — as several studies have previously concluded. This more rigorous study suggests that earlier findings should be regarded with caution.

The study followed the women through two menstrual cycles. For the first cycle, 88 women participated; 68 women were re-assessed for a second cycle, to rule out practice effects and false-positive chance findings. Visuospatial working memory, attention, cognitive bias and hormone levels were assessed at four consecutive time-points across both cycles.

Of the initial 88, 58 had no endocrinological problems, 13 were diagnosed with endometriosis, 16 with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and one woman with hyperprolactinemia. Additionally, 12 women presented with obesity. Women were excluded if they were using oral contraceptives, had been pregnant or breastfeeding within the past 6 months, were using medication or had surgery which might interfere with endocrine parameters, had severe psychiatric or general diseases, worked irregular shifts, had menstrual or ovulation disorders except those investigated in the study, or showed any additional abnormality in hormonal parameters. Mean age was 30. Data from the subset of healthy women were also analyzed separately, confirming no difference in the findings. I would have liked the researchers to mention how the 68 women in the replication were selected, but I assume, after all their emphasis on methodological rigor, that they would have been careful to make sure there was no bias in that selection.

It should be noted, however, that the cognitive testing wasn’t exhaustive by any means — it’s possible that other cognitive aspects might be affected by hormonal changes. However, attention and working memory are the areas generally accused, and most likely to be noticed by an individual.

Of course, that’s the thing about attention and working memory — they’re very sensitive to a host of factors, including sleep quality and stress. So, we often notice that we’re not working at top gear, and we’re likely to look around for reasons. If we’re women, and it’s our period or just before it, we’re quite likely to attribute the reason to that. And it may be true in an indirect way — if we have pain, or sleeplessness, or are stressed, for example. What this study tells us, is that the changes in hormonal levels don't seem to consistently affect cognition.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/f-mdc062717.php

Reference: 

Related News

Here’s an intriguing approach to the long-standing debate about gender differences in spatial thinking. The study involved 1,279 adults from two cultural groups in India. One of these groups was patrilineal, the other matrilineal.

Following animal research indicating that binge drinking damages the

From the Whitehall II study, data involving 5431 older participants (45-69 at baseline) has revealed a significant effect of midlife sleep changes on later cognitive function. Sleep duration was assessed at one point between 1997 and 1999, and again between 2002 and 2004.

Shrinking of the

Research into the link, if any, between cholesterol and dementia, has been somewhat contradictory. A very long-running Swedish study may explain why.

A study involving 80 college students (34 men and 46 women) between the ages of 18 and 40, has found that those given a caffeinated energy drink reported feeling more stimulated and less tired than those given a decaffeinated soda or no drink.

No one is denying that boys are far more likely to be autistic than girls, but a new study has found that this perception of autism as a male disorder also means that girls are less likely to be diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) even when their symptoms are equally severe.

A meta-analysis of 242 articles assessing the math skills of 1,286,350 people found no difference between the two sexes.

The issue of “mommy brain” is a complex one. Inconsistent research results make it clear that there is no simple answer to the question of whether or not pregnancy and infant care change women’s brains. But a new study adds to the picture.

Recent rodent studies add to our understanding of how estrogen affects learning and memory.

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news
Error | About memory

Error

The website encountered an unexpected error. Please try again later.