--- title: Does attention to other people's faces change during the menstrual cycle? description: Attention to faces changes during the cycle. In the late follicular phase, women's eyes showed more distraction by faces. In the mid-luteal phase, this patter url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/social-attention-memory-and-memory-guided-orienting-change-across-the-menstrual-2022/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does attention to other people's faces change during the menstrual cycle? Lab study, 2022 # Does attention to other people's faces change during the menstrual cycle? Attention to faces changes during the cycle. In the late follicular phase, women's eyes showed more distraction by faces. In the mid-luteal phase, this pattern did not occur. Women also remembered targets better in the late follicular phase. Moderate study design 36 healthy women without hormone use with stable menstrual cycles of 26-30 days ## What they did 36 women without hormone use participated in three tasks during two cycle phases: late follicular and mid-luteal phase. They searched for targets among images with either faces or everyday objects (eye movements tracked), did a memory test for the targets, and found targets in scenes with or without people. ## What they found In the follicular phase, women took longer to find targets when faces were present and their eyes avoided the targets more often, showing they were distracted by faces. This pattern did not occur in the mid-luteal phase. Women remembered targets better in the follicular phase than the luteal phase. In the luteal phase, it took longer to find targets in scenes containing people. ## What it means for you The menstrual cycle affects how much attention women pay to other people's faces and how well they remember things. This may be related to hormonal changes and how the brain processes social information. A limitation is that only 36 women were studied, all without hormone use, so results may not apply to women on birth control or with irregular cycles. 36 healthy women 3 cognitive tasks tested 26-30 days in stable menstrual cycle ## About the study Original title Social attention, memory, and memory-guided orienting change across the menstrual cycle Authors Li J, Deng SW Journal Physiology & behavior Year 2022 Study design Lab study What was tested Testing attention and memory during different cycle phases Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113808](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113808) ## Topics [Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Systematic review, 2026 Do brain wave patterns change across the menstrual cycle? Systematic review, 2026 Can digital tools help diagnose PMDD? Systematic review, 2025 How do cognition and behavior change across the menstrual cycle in people with PMDD? Systematic review, 2025 Does how well women think change throughout their menstrual cycle? Randomised trial, 2025 Does the menstrual cycle phase affect how much alcohol impairs women's memory? Randomised trial, 2024 Does estradiol prevent thinking problems before the period in women with suicidal thoughts? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗