Study, 2010
Does brain activity change during different phases of the menstrual cycle?
Yes. Brain activity during a thinking task differs between different phases of the menstrual cycle and also differs between women and men. This is a small study so the results need confirming.
What they did
Researchers used brain scans (fMRI) while 12 women in the menstrual phase, 12 women in the luteal phase, 12 women on oral contraception, and 12 men performed a word generation task. Brain activation patterns were compared between groups.
What they found
Women on oral contraception showed different brain activation patterns than women not on contraception, particularly in the right hemisphere. Brain activation during the word task differed between women at different cycle phases and between women and men.
What it means for you
Brain activity during thinking tasks may change with the menstrual cycle and may be affected by hormonal contraception. However, this was a very small study of only 12 women per group, so larger studies are needed to confirm these findings. The results are about a specific lab task, not about PMS or PMDD symptoms.
12
women in each cycle phase group
12
men in comparison group
About the study
- Original title
- Cycle and gender-specific cerebral activation during a verb generation task using fMRI: comparison of women in different cycle phases, under oral contraception, and men
- Authors
- Rumberg B, Baars A, Fiebach J et al.
- Journal
- Neuroscience research
- Year
- 2010
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 12
- What was tested
- Brain scanning while performing a word generation task
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.neures.2009.12.011