title: Menstrual cycle effects on selective attention and its underlying cortical networks.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Section Clinical Neuropsychology, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany. Electronic address: mthimm@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thimm
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weis
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hausmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Section Clinical Neuropsychology, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sturm
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol
keywords: ACC; ANOVA; DLPFC; ER; FCA; FWE; IPL; ISI; PPI; RT; SD; TC; Talairach coordinates; analysis of variance; anterior cingulate cortex; dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; error rates; fMRI; family wise error; functional cerebral asymmetry; functional magnetic resonance imaging; go/no-go; inferior parietal lobe; interstimulus interval; menstrual cycle; psychophysiological interaction; reaction times; selective attention; standard deviation; steroid hormones