Dynamic changes in functional cerebral connectivity of spatial cognition during the menstrual cycle

Weis, S; Hausmann, M; Stoffers, B; Sturm, W

Abstract

Functional cerebral asymmetries (FCAs) in women have been shown to vary with changing levels of sex hormones during the menstrual cycle. Previous studies have suggested that interhemispheric interaction forms a key component in generating FCAs and it has been shown behaviorally and by functional imaging that interhemispheric interaction changes during the menstrual cycle, at least for a left hemisphere dominant task. We used functional MRI and an analysis of functional connectivity to examine whether changes in right hemisphere advantage for a figure comparison task as found in behavioral studies, are based on comparable mechanisms like those identified for the verbal task. Women were examined three times during the menstrual cycle, during the menstrual, follicular and luteal phases. The behavioral data confirmed the right hemisphere advantage for the figure comparison task as well as changes of the right hemisphere advantage during the menstrual cycle. Imaging data showed cycle phase-related changes in lateralized brain activation within the task-dominant hemisphere and changes in connectivity between nonhomotopic areas of both hemispheres, suggesting that changes in functional brain organization in women during the menstrual cycle are not only restricted to hormone-related changes of interhemispheric inhibition between homotopic areas, as has been proposed earlier, but might additionally apply to changes of neuronal processes within the hemispheres which seem to be modulated by heterotopic functional connectivity between hemispheres.

Citation

Weis, S., Hausmann, M., Stoffers, B., & Sturm, W. (2011). Dynamic changes in functional cerebral connectivity of spatial cognition during the menstrual cycle. Human Brain Mapping, 32(10), 1544-1556. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.21126

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Feb 22, 2012
• Journal: Human Brain Mapping
• Print ISSN: 1065-9471
• Electronic ISSN: 1097-0193
• Publisher: Wiley Open Access
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 10
• Pages: 1544-1556
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.21126
• Keywords: Functional magnetic resonance imaging, Functional cerebral asymmetries, Sex differences, Sex hormones, Lateralization, Progesterone, Estradiol.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1481146