Review, 1998
Does women's performance on cognitive and motor tasks change across the menstrual cycle?
No. Women's performance did not differ between menstruation and the midluteal phase, even though men and women scored differently on 5 of the 6 tasks tested.
What they did
Researchers gave 6 cognitive and motor tasks to college students: 3 tasks where women typically perform better and 3 where men typically perform better. Women completed the tasks twice, once during menstruation and once during the midluteal phase (confirmed by ovulation detection kits and subsequent menstruation). Men completed the tasks once.
What they found
5 of the 6 tasks showed significant sex differences between men and women. However, women's performance did not differ between the menstrual phase and the midluteal phase. There was no evidence that cycle phase affected cognitive or motor performance.
What it means for you
Even though men and women perform differently on certain thinking and movement tasks, women's performance doesn't change across the menstrual cycle on these tasks. This suggests hormonal changes during the cycle may not affect these kinds of abilities. The study was limited to younger college women, so results might differ for older women or different types of tasks.
6
tasks tested
5 of 6
tasks showed sex differences
2
times women were tested
About the study
- Original title
- Sex-sensitive tasks in men and women: a search for performance fluctuations across the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Epting LK, Overman WH
- Journal
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Year
- 1998
- Study design
- Review
- What was tested
- None; this was an observational study of natural cycle phases
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1037//0735-7044.112.6.1304