Lab study, 2000
Does the menstrual cycle change how your brain responds to sexual images?
Yes. During ovulation, the brain showed a larger electrical response to sexual images compared to other image types, but only when women were emotionally processing the images.
What they did
11 women were tested during three different phases of their menstrual cycle: menstruation, ovulation, and the luteal phase (after ovulation). They were shown four types of images: sexual images, babies, people doing body care, and ordinary people. While looking at the images, they either rated the emotional content or counted lines. Researchers measured electrical activity in the brain.
What they found
During the ovulatory phase, the brain's electrical response to sexual images peaked at 550-600 milliseconds after seeing them and was larger than the response to other types of images. This effect only occurred during ovulation and only when women were emotionally processing the images, not when counting lines.
What it means for you
Your brain may process sexual content differently at different points in your cycle, with more brain activity during ovulation when thinking about emotions. The study was small with only 11 women, so results need confirmation in larger studies.
11
women studied
3
menstrual phases tested
550-600 ms
timing of peak response
About the study
- Original title
- Selective influence of the menstrual cycle on perception of stimuli with reproductive significance: an event-related potential study
- Authors
- Krug R, Plihal W, Fehm HL et al.
- Journal
- Psychophysiology
- Year
- 2000
- Study design
- Lab study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/1469-8986.3710111
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