Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • About
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Cognitive Science

Women’s cognitive abilities remain stable across menstrual cycle

by Mane Kara-Yakoubian
April 18, 2025
in Cognitive Science
[Adobe Stock]

[Adobe Stock]

Share on TwitterShare on Facebook

A new meta-analysis published in PLOS One finds no robust evidence that women’s cognitive abilities vary across different phases of the menstrual cycle.

Throughout history, popular narratives have often portrayed menstruation as a condition that impairs thinking and decision-making. This perception has made its way into public discourse, ranging from newspaper editorials to political commentary. Meanwhile, some brain imaging studies and reports of subjective experiences have suggested possible cognitive shifts throughout the cycle, contributing to a conflicting scientific narrative.

To address this question, Daisung Jang and colleagues conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis with the goal of resolving inconsistent findings.

The authors conducted a broad search of psychological and biomedical databases (e.g., PsycInfo, PubMed) for research on menstrual cycle effects on cognitive performance, retrieving 102 articles that met their inclusion criteria. The final meta-analysis included 3,943 participants and 730 comparisons. All included studies assessed women’s cognitive performance across at least two clearly defined phases of the menstrual cycle.

Cognitive domains evaluated included attention, creativity, executive functioning, intelligence, memory, motor function, spatial ability, and verbal ability, with tasks requiring objectively correct answers. Both speed and accuracy measures were analyzed separately where data permitted.

Menstrual cycle phases were standardized across studies using a five-phase model: menstrual, follicular, periovulatory, luteal, and premenstrual. When needed, phase definitions from original studies were reclassified to fit this model. The researchers applied Hedges’ g to estimate effect sizes and corrected for methodological inconsistencies, including test-retest reliability. Additional robustness checks were performed by focusing on studies with hormone-confirmed cycle phases and those with 80% phase definition overlap. Studies of oral contraceptive users were also analyzed separately to serve as a comparison group.

Across the entire dataset, no significant or consistent differences were found in attention, creativity, executive function, intelligence, or motor performance across the menstrual cycle. Even in domains where prior findings hinted at possible changes—such as memory, spatial ability, and verbal performance—any observed effects were small, inconsistent, and not robust to correction for multiple comparisons or to analyses restricted to high-quality studies.

For example, an initial advantage in spatial accuracy during ovulation relative to the follicular phase was found in the full sample, but this effect disappeared in hormone-confirmed studies.

Speed and accuracy, which were analyzed separately, also showed no reliable trends across cycle phases. While individual studies occasionally reported differences, these did not replicate consistently across high-quality or large-sample studies. Heterogeneity in results was often traced back to poor methodological practices, such as self-reported cycle tracking or loosely defined phase boundaries.

Publication bias was also ruled out, suggesting that the absence of findings was not due to selective reporting.

A limitation is that many studies had small sample sizes and relied on self-reported menstrual tracking rather than hormonal assays. Although robustness checks excluded these studies, the field would benefit from more large-scale, rigorously controlled research.

This meta-analysis provides evidence that women’s cognitive abilities remain stable throughout the menstrual cycle, helping to dispel long-standing myths about hormonal effects on female cognition.

The study, “Menstrual cycle effects on cognitive performance: A meta-analysis,” was authored by Daisung Jang, Jack Zhang, and Hillary Anger Elfenbein.

TweetSendScanShareSendPinShareShareShareShareShare

RELATED

A colorful brain on a black background
Cognitive Science

Neuroscientists discover how “aha” moments rewire the brain to enhance memory

May 22, 2025

A study using brain scans shows that flashes of insight reorganize neural patterns in the visual cortex and engage memory and emotion regions, helping embed the solution more deeply in long-term memory.

Read moreDetails
Scientists observe lasting cognitive deficits in long COVID patients
Cognitive Science

Therapeutic video game shows promise for post-COVID cognitive recovery

May 20, 2025

A new study finds that a therapeutic video game, AKL-T01, improved task-switching and processing speed in people with post-COVID cognitive deficits. While sustained attention did not improve, participants reported better quality of life and reduced fatigue after six weeks of gameplay.

Read moreDetails
Brain oscillations reveal dynamic shifts in creative thought during metaphor generation
Cognitive Science

Brain oscillations reveal dynamic shifts in creative thought during metaphor generation

May 19, 2025

A new study reveals that creative metaphor generation involves shifting patterns of brain activity, with alpha oscillations playing a key role at different stages of the process, offering fresh insight into the neural dynamics behind verbal creativity.

Read moreDetails
Surprisingly widespread brain activity supports economic decision-making, new study finds
Cognitive Science

Surprisingly widespread brain activity supports economic decision-making, new study finds

May 19, 2025

A new study using direct brain recordings reveals that human economic decision-making is not localized to a single brain region. Instead, multiple areas work together, with high-frequency activity encoding risk, reward probability, and the final choice itself.

Read moreDetails
Scientists use brain activity to predict StarCraft II skill in fascinating new neuroscience research
Cognitive Science

Scientists use brain activity to predict StarCraft II skill in fascinating new neuroscience research

May 16, 2025

A study combining brain scans and gameplay data reveals that players with more efficient visual attention and stronger white matter connections excel at StarCraft II. The results highlight how neural traits shape success in cognitively demanding video games.

Read moreDetails
Neuroscientists discover music’s hidden power to reshape memory
Memory

Neuroscientists discover music’s hidden power to reshape memory

May 14, 2025

A new neuroimaging study reveals that listening to emotionally charged music during memory recall can change how we remember events. The music not only shaped what participants remembered but also altered the emotional tone of their memories one day later.

Read moreDetails
Study links anomalous experiences to subconscious connectedness and other psychological traits
Cognitive Science

Study links anomalous experiences to subconscious connectedness and other psychological traits

May 13, 2025

A new study suggests that unusual experiences like déjà vu or premonitions are not only common but linked to a distinct psychological trait called subconscious connectedness. Researchers found that people high in this trait reported significantly more anomalous experiences.

Read moreDetails
Eye-tracking study suggests that negative comments on social media are more attention-grabbing than positive comments
Cognitive Science

Can you train your brain to unsee optical illusions? Scientists think so

May 12, 2025

A recent study found that radiologists are less susceptible to optical illusions, likely due to their intensive visual training. The research challenges long-standing beliefs that illusions are automatic and suggests perceptual skills can be shaped over time.

Read moreDetails

SUBSCRIBE

Go Ad-Free! Click here to subscribe to PsyPost and support independent science journalism!

STAY CONNECTED

LATEST

Non-right-handedness is more common across multiple mental health conditions

Withdrawal symptoms are common after stopping antidepressants

Anxious attachment linked to depression spillover in romantic relationships, study finds

Scientists find 16 new Alzheimer’s-linked genes using multi-ancestry genome data

Groundbreaking AI model uncovers hidden patterns of political bias in online news

Gut bacteria can influence how brain proteins are modified by carbohydrates

“Tiger mom” parenting boosts teens’ cognitive skills but undermines emotional development, study suggests

Study uncovers three sexual power profiles—and only one is linked to relationship satisfaction

         
       
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
[Do not sell my information]

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy