Lab study, 2020
Does progesterone affect how women pay attention to social information?
Higher progesterone levels, which occur in the luteal phase of the cycle, made women pay more attention to social information and process it more accurately. However, this heightened sensitivity might contribute to mood problems in some women.
What they did
Twenty-six healthy women were tested three times during their cycle: during menstruation, in the follicular phase (low progesterone), and in the luteal phase (high progesterone). They completed tasks measuring how quickly they identified faces and directed their attention.
What they found
Higher progesterone levels were linked to faster reactions to sad faces, suggesting women paid more attention to this social signal. During the luteal phase, women had increased reaction times and increased accuracy on an attention test, showing they allocated more attention to targets using a more careful strategy.
What it means for you
Progesterone may help women notice social signals, which could be useful for detecting threats or others' needs. If this system becomes overactivated, it might contribute to mood disturbances and could be involved in how premenstrual dysphoric disorder develops. The study was small with naturally cycling women, so findings may not apply to women with PMDD or those using hormonal birth control.
26
women tested
3
test sessions per woman across the cycle
About the study
- Original title
- High progesterone levels facilitate women's social information processing by optimizing attention allocation
- Authors
- Wang J, Chen A
- Journal
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Year
- 2020
- Study design
- Lab study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104882
Topics
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