Menstrual cycle effects on selective attention and its underlying cortical networks

Thimm, M.; Weis, S.; Hausmann, M.; Sturm, W.

Abstract

It was the aim of the present study to investigate menstrual cycle effects on selective attention and its underlying functional cerebral networks. Twenty-one healthy, right-handed, normally cycling women were investigated by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging using a go/no-go paradigm during the menstrual, follicular and luteal phase. On the behavioral level there was a significant interaction between visual half field and cycle phase with reaction times to right-sided compared to left-sided stimuli being faster in the menstrual compared to the follicular phase. These results might argue for a more pronounced functional cerebral asymmetry toward the left hemisphere in selective attention during the menstrual phase with low estradiol and progesterone levels. Functional imaging, however, did not reveal clear-cut menstrual phase-related changes in activation pattern in parallel to these behavioral findings. A functional connectivity analysis identified differences between the menstrual and the luteal phase: During the menstrual phase, left inferior parietal cortex showed a stronger negative correlation with the right middle frontal gyrus while the left medial frontal cortex showed a stronger negative correlation with the left middle frontal gyrus. These results can serve as further evidence of a modulatory effect of steroid hormones on networks of lateralized cognitive functions not only by interhemispheric inhibition but also by affecting intrahemispheric functional connectivity.

Citation

Thimm, M., Weis, S., Hausmann, M., & Sturm, W. (2014). Menstrual cycle effects on selective attention and its underlying cortical networks. Neuroscience, 258, 307-317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.11.010

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 5, 2013
• Publication Date: Jan 31, 2014
• Deposit Date: Nov 8, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Journal: Neuroscience
• Print ISSN: 0306-4522
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 258
• Pages: 307-317
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.11.010
• Keywords: fMRI, Selective attention, Go/no-go, Menstrual cycle, Steroid hormones, Functional cerebral asymmetry.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1444715