--- title: Does the menstrual cycle affect how your brain responds to rewards and errors? description: The menstrual cycle causes small changes in how the brain responds to rewards and errors. These brain changes vary a lot between people, and for some people t url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/characterizing-within-person-variance-in-and-menstrual-cycle-associations-with-2024/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does the menstrual cycle affect how your brain responds to rewards and errors? Survey study, 2024 # Does the menstrual cycle affect how your brain responds to rewards and errors? The menstrual cycle causes small changes in how the brain responds to rewards and errors. These brain changes vary a lot between people, and for some people they match changes in mood across their cycle. Moderate study design 71 people with natural menstrual cycles ## What they did Cross-sectional study of 71 naturally menstruating people. Participants had their brain electrical activity measured while doing tasks and answered questions about their mood at three different menstrual cycle phases: early follicular, around ovulation, and mid-luteal. ## What they found No significant mood changes across the menstrual cycle. Small changes were found in brain electrical responses related to reward processing and error detection between cycle phases. Individual differences were large: some people showed much bigger changes in brain responses across their cycle than others. For some participants, changes in brain responses matched their reported mood changes across the cycle. ## What it means for you The menstrual cycle affects how the brain processes information, but the changes are small and differ greatly between people. Brain changes related to emotions match the emotional changes people experience. Study observed natural cycles without testing any intervention. Sample size limits how much we can conclude about all women. 71 Naturally cycling participants 3 Menstrual cycle phases studied ## About the study Original title Characterizing within-person variance in, and menstrual cycle associations with, event-related potentials associated with positive and negative valence systems: The reward positivity and the error-related negativity Authors Mulligan EM, Eisenlohr-Moul TA, Nagpal A et al. Journal Psychoneuroendocrinology Year 2024 Study design Survey study What was tested None - observational study of natural cycles Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107183](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107183) ## Topics [Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Reproductive hormone sensitivity](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-hormone-sensitivity/) 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 Why do some women experience mood changes linked to their menstrual cycle? Systematic review, 2023 What hormonal treatments have been tested for PMDD, menstrual migraine, and catamenial epilepsy? Systematic review, 2022 Do mental health disorders get worse during the menstrual cycle? Cohort study, 2026 How do menstrual cycle hormones affect suicide risk in women? Review, 2025 How do hormone changes across the menstrual cycle affect mood and behavior in psychiatric disorders? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗