Lab study, 2015
Does the menstrual cycle affect how our brains learn and forget things?
Yes. Women in the luteal phase (second half) of their cycle showed stronger brain responses related to learning compared to men. Women in the menses phase also showed stronger learning responses than men, but not when trying to forget.
What they did
Thirty-two women were tested at two points in their menstrual cycle (during menses and during the luteal phase), along with 16 men. The study measured brain activity using event-related potentials (brain wave measurements) while people learned to associate a signal with either negative or neutral pictures, and then watched the signal without pictures to see if they forgot the association.
What they found
Women during the luteal phase showed larger brain wave responses than men when learning signal-picture associations, and also when trying to forget them. Women during menses showed larger responses than men during learning, but not during forgetting. This suggests women in the luteal phase learn more strongly and may take longer to forget what they learned.
What it means for you
The menstrual cycle may affect how the brain processes learned associations, which might relate to premenstrual dysphoric disorder. The main limits are that this is a laboratory task that may not reflect real-life learning, and the sample includes only women of reproductive age willing to participate.
32
women tested at two cycle phases
16
men tested
About the study
- Original title
- [The influence of sex and menstrual cycle on conditioned acquisition and extinction: Event-related potential research]
- Authors
- Jin Y, Zheng XF
- Journal
- Sheng li xue bao : [Acta physiologica Sinica]
- Year
- 2015
- Study design
- Lab study
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26490064/
Topics
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