Survey study, 2011
Does the menstrual cycle affect a chimpanzee's ability to do cognitive tasks?
Yes. During the hormone surge at ovulation, the chimpanzee's accuracy decreased and she took longer to complete tasks, but only on difficult tasks that required attention and memory.
What they did
Tracked one female chimpanzee's performance on two cognitive tasks (a simple task of ordering numbers and a difficult task combining numerical ordering with spatial memory) across 6 menstrual cycles. Measured hormone levels and sexual swelling.
What they found
During the LH surge (the hormone peak at ovulation), the chimpanzee's accuracy decreased and the time between attempts increased, but only for the difficult task. Performance on the simple task was not affected.
What it means for you
Hormone changes during ovulation may affect attention and motivation in complex tasks, even in experienced animals. This is a case study of one animal, so findings cannot be generalized to other chimpanzees or different situations.
1
chimpanzee
6
menstrual cycles observed
2
cognitive tasks tested
About the study
- Original title
- Correlation between menstrual cycle and cognitive performance in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)
- Authors
- Inoue S, Matsuzawa T
- Journal
- Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983)
- Year
- 2011
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- Observation of cognitive task performance across menstrual cycles
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1037/a0020870