The menstrual cycle has no impact on women’s cognitive abilities.
- The menstrual cycle has no impact on women’s cognitive abilities, according to a new study.
- “We conclude that verbal and spatial performance remains relatively stable throughout the menstrual cycle in women,” the researchers write in their report.
- The research is published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
Contrary to what some people believe about periods, a new study indicates that the menstrual cycle has no impact on women’s cognitive abilities.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers formed a cohort. All participants included were women aged 18 to 35 who were not using hormonal contraception, had no underlying health conditions, and had a menstrual cycle lasting between 21 and 35 days.
Impact of the menstrual cycle on cognitive abilities: two experiments carried out on women
In a first experiment, the participants carried out a verbal memory exercise and tested their ability to mentally rotate the image of an object in 2 or 3 dimensions. The tests were done at home for 80 days (i.e. for two to three menstrual cycles).
In another experiment, participants completed exercise sessions in a computer lab either during their period, two to three days before ovulation, or a week before their next period. This time, the tests assessed verbal fluency, orientation and the ability to mentally rotate the image of an object. Saliva samples were also taken at each exam to assess hormone levels.
Originally, scientists believed that verbal performance would improve during the menstrual cycle and that spatial performance would be impaired during the peri-ovulatory or luteal phases.
But the results obtained after analyzes demonstrate that there is a “substantial consistency” in the verbal and spatial performances of the women included in the study, indicating that the menstrual cycle has no effect on these skills.
“Verbal and spatial performance remains stable during the menstrual cycle”
“We conclude that verbal and spatial performance remains relatively stable throughout the menstrual cycle in women,” write the researchers in their report. “The associations between verbal and spatial performance and ovarian hormones are likely weak,” they add.
“These results do not mean that these hormones are unimportant for cognition,” However, Liisa Galea, professor at the University of Toronto and author of the research, nuanced this. “It just tells us that during a normal menstrual cycle, we don’t see these kinds of effects,” she finishes.
His study is published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
