Survey study, 2008
Does estradiol hormone level affect memory across the menstrual cycle?
No clear relationship was found between estradiol level and how well women remembered words. However, estradiol level did relate to brain activity in a memory region.
What they did
Researchers studied women during the early part of their menstrual cycle, measuring estradiol hormone levels in blood and watching brain activity using brain imaging while they did memory tasks.
What they found
No clear relationship between estradiol level and how well women recalled information. However, there was a relationship between estradiol level and brain activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus (a brain area involved in memory) during memory tasks.
What it means for you
Even though estradiol levels don't clearly affect memory performance, the hormone does affect how the brain works during memory tasks. This suggests estradiol influences brain function even if overall memory doesn't change noticeably. The main limits are this only studied one part of the cycle, used expensive brain imaging not used in regular doctor visits, and found no clear memory effects.
About the study
- Original title
- Physiological variation in estradiol and brain function: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of verbal memory across the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Craig MC, Fletcher PC, Daly EM et al.
- Journal
- Hormones and behavior
- Year
- 2008
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- None; this is an observational study measuring hormone and brain activity
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.11.005
Topics
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