---
title: Does how your brain responds to images change during your menstrual cycle?
description: A specific type of brain wave activity changed based on hormone levels: it was strongest for babies and male faces when progesterone was high, and women found
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-relationship-between-menstrual-phase-and-the-p3-component-of-erps-1991/
---

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- Does how your brain responds to images change during your menstrual cycle?

Survey study, 1991

# Does how your brain responds to images change during your menstrual cycle?

A specific type of brain wave activity changed based on hormone levels: it was strongest for babies and male faces when progesterone was high, and women found all images more pleasant when estrogen was high.

 Moderate study design

30 women

## What they did

30 women looked at picture slides in 5 categories: babies, skin conditions, ordinary people, male models, and female models. Researchers measured their brain electrical activity and asked them to rate how they felt about each image.

## What they found

The brain wave pattern was strongest for babies and male models when progesterone was high. When progesterone was high, women also rated images as less complex and less related to sexual interest. When estrogen was high, women rated all images as more pleasant.

## What it means for you

Hormones during your menstrual cycle may affect how your brain responds to what you see. The main limitation is this study used pictures in a lab, not real-life situations, so findings may not apply to everyday experience.

30

women studied

5

image categories

2

key hormones examined

## About the study

Original title The relationship between menstrual phase and the P3 component of ERPs Authors Johnston VS, Wang XT Journal Psychophysiology Year 1991 Study design Survey study Participants 30 Read the paper [doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1991.tb00723.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1991.tb00723.x)

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