Survey study, 2007
Does menstrual cycle affect how the brain works during spatial thinking?
Brain activation patterns during spatial thinking tasks changed across the menstrual cycle and were linked to hormone levels. It is unclear whether these brain changes affect how well people actually perform.
What they did
Researchers used brain imaging to watch how 12 women and 12 men's brains worked during 3D mental rotation tasks. Women were scanned during the early follicular and midluteal phases of their cycle.
What they found
Brain activation in parietal and frontal areas differed between men and women during mental rotation. In women, activation was linked to estradiol in multiple areas and to testosterone only in the early follicular phase. In men, activation was linked to testosterone levels.
What it means for you
Hormones appear to influence how the brain activates during thinking tasks. However, this was an extremely small study with only 24 people, and brain imaging does not directly show whether these changes affect actual task performance.
12
women studied
12
men studied
2
menstrual cycle phases examined in women
About the study
- Original title
- Functional anatomy of visuo-spatial working memory during mental rotation is influenced by sex, menstrual cycle, and sex steroid hormones
- Authors
- Schöning S, Engelien A, Kugel H et al.
- Journal
- Neuropsychologia
- Year
- 2007
- Study design
- Survey study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2007.06.011