--- title: Does how well women think and process information change across their menstrual cycle? description: No. Across three separate well-designed studies, women's thinking skills remained stable across menstrual cycle phases even though hormone levels changed subs url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/reproducible-stability-of-verbal-and-spatial-functions-along-the-menstrual-cycle-2024/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does how well women think and process information change across their menstrual cycle? Study, 2024 # Does how well women think and process information change across their menstrual cycle? No. Across three separate well-designed studies, women's thinking skills remained stable across menstrual cycle phases even though hormone levels changed substantially. Moderate study design Women (specific age and demographic details not provided in abstract) ## What they did Researchers did three separate behavioral studies testing verbal (language) and spatial (visual-spatial) thinking. They tested whether performance differed across cycle phases, whether it related to estrogen or progesterone levels, and whether hormone sensitivity affected outcomes. All studies were well-powered. ## What they found Across all three studies, menstrual cycle phase had no effect on verbal or spatial performance. Cognitive ability was not clearly linked to estrogen or progesterone levels. Individual hormone sensitivity did not change this pattern. Overall, verbal and spatial thinking remained stable across the menstrual cycle. ## What it means for you Your thinking skills and language abilities do not change across your menstrual cycle despite hormone changes. This contradicts concerns that cycle hormones impair cognition. The main limitation is the abstract does not report sample sizes, so we cannot know how confident to be in these findings. 3 Number of separate studies conducted ## About the study Original title Reproducible stability of verbal and spatial functions along the menstrual cycle Authors Pletzer B, Bodenbach H, Hoehn M et al. Journal Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Year 2024 Study design Study What was tested Cognitive testing with verbal and spatial performance tasks Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1038/s41386-023-01789-9](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-023-01789-9) Original abstract Recent studies have reported brain changes in response to ovarian hormonal fluctuations along the menstrual cycle. However, it remains unclear, whether these brain changes are of an adaptive nature or whether they are linked to changes in behavior along the menstrual cycle, particularly with respect to cognitive performance. To address this knowledge gap, we report results from 3 well-powered behavioral studies with different task designs, leveraging the advantages of each design type. In all three studies we assessed whether verbal or spatial performance (i) differed between cycle phases, (ii) were related to estradiol and / or progesterone levels and (iii) were moderated by individual hormone sensitivity as estimated by premenstrual symptoms. Overall, results of all three studies point towards a null effect of menstrual cycle phase and - to a lesser extent - ovarian hormones on verbal and spatial performance and provided no evidence for a moderation of this effect by individual hormone sensitivity. We conclude that there is substantial consistency in verbal and spatial performance across the menstrual cycle, and that future studies of intra-individual variation are needed. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Reproductive hormone sensitivity](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-hormone-sensitivity/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/) 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 How often do mood disorders and PMS or PMDD occur together? Systematic review, 2026 Why do some women experience mood changes linked to their menstrual cycle? Case-control study, 2026 Do women with PMS handle emotions differently at different times of the cycle? Systematic review, 2025 Does teaching adolescent girls about their menstrual cycle and health help reduce period pain and PMS? Systematic review, 2023 What hormonal treatments have been tested for PMDD, menstrual migraine, and catamenial epilepsy? Cohort study, 2023 Is PMDD a valid medical diagnosis? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗