Study, 2000
How do sex hormones affect spatial thinking during the menstrual cycle?
Sex hormones affect how well women perform on spatial thinking tests. Women score higher during the menstrual phase and lower during the midluteal phase. Testosterone helps with spatial thinking, while estradiol makes it harder.
What they did
Researchers measured spatial thinking in 12 young women using three different tests during two phases of their menstrual cycle: the menstrual phase and the midluteal phase. They also measured hormone levels.
What they found
Women scored high on the Mental Rotation Test during the menstrual phase and low during the midluteal phase. Testosterone had a strong positive effect on spatial thinking performance, while estradiol had a negative effect.
What it means for you
Sex hormones affect spatial thinking abilities. Women may notice changes in these abilities at different times of their cycle. The main limitation is the very small sample of only 12 women.
12
women studied
6 weeks
duration of hormone and test measurement
3
spatial tests used
About the study
- Original title
- Sex hormones affect spatial abilities during the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Hausmann M, Slabbekoorn D, Van Goozen SH et al.
- Journal
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Year
- 2000
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 12
- What was tested
- Measurement of spatial thinking across menstrual cycle phases
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1037//0735-7044.114.6.1245
Original abstract
The aim of this study was (a) to show that different measures of spatial cognition are modulated by the menstrual cycle and (b) to analyze which steroid is responsible for these cognitive alterations. The authors collected blood samples in 3-day intervals over 6 weeks from 12 young women with a regular menstrual cycle to analyze concentrations of estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone. The performance on 3 spatial tests was measured during the menstrual and the midluteal phases. A significant cycle difference in spatial ability as tested by the Mental Rotation Test was found, with high scores during the menstrual phase and low scores during the midluteal phase. Testosterone had a strong and positive influence on mental rotation performance, whereas estradiol had a negative one. These results clearly indicate that testosterone and estradiol are able to modulate spatial cognition during the menstrual cycle.
Reproduced under CC-BY.
Topics
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