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.
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
Topics
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?