Survey study, 2025
Do hormone levels during the menstrual cycle affect visual memory?
Hormone levels do not clearly affect how well women remember visual information. Age was more important than hormones.
What they did
32 men and 133 women aged 18-35 completed a visual memory test where they detected image changes. Four groups of women were tested: naturally cycling early follicular (n=33), naturally cycling mid-luteal (n=35), oral contraceptive users (n=37), and intrauterine device users (n=28). Brain activity and saliva hormone levels were measured.
What they found
There were no clear differences in visual memory performance or brain activity between any groups, and hormone levels did not correlate with performance. One exception: naturally cycling women in the early follicular phase performed slightly worse than contraceptive users when remembering four items. Age was significant. Older participants performed worse. Different age-related patterns appeared in men and women and across different hormone status groups.
What it means for you
Sex hormones may not directly affect visual working memory, though age and hormonal contraception may influence how memory changes with age. The study tested only one specific memory task, which may not reflect other types of thinking or real-world situations.
165
total participants
18-35 years
age range
133
women tested
About the study
- Original title
- Exploring the role of sex, sex steroids, menstrual cycle, and hormonal contraception use in visual working memory: Insights from behavioral and EEG analyses
- Authors
- Gaižauskaitė R, Gladutytė L, Zelionkaitė I et al.
- Journal
- International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
- Year
- 2025
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 37
- What was tested
- None
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.112520
Topics
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