An effect of menstrual cycle phase on episodic memory

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2022.00466

Abstract

Abstract:

Evolutionary psychology research suggests that sex hormones may influence episodic memory, though the specific mechanisms of such an influence are not clear. In this study, we compared episodic memory performance in a What-Where-When (WWW) test (dependent variables) between the late follicular phase (late-FP) and mid-luteal phase (mid-LP) of the menstrual cycle (independent variable) in Experiment 1. We combined the WWW task with event-related potential (ERP) analysis in Experiment 2 to explore neurological mechanisms of menstrual cycle effects on episodic memory. In Experiment 1, 33 women with a stable menstrual cycle completed the WWW test in the late-FP and mid-LP (balanced order). The test included the O task (memorizing objects), P task (memorizing positions), OO task (memorizing objects and their presentation order), OP task (memorizing objects and their presentation position), and PO task (memorizing presentation order and position). PO task accuracy was significantly better in the mid-LP than in late-FP. In Experiment 2 (total N = 28, 16 with ERP data), frontal-lobe P300 and LPC amplitudes were found to be significantly larger during the mid-LP than in the late-FP. Sensitivity correlated directly with P300 amplitudes in right frontal electrodes. The ERP data suggested that good PO task performance in the mid-LP may benefit from enhanced cognitive control. In conclusion, the present study supports the possibility that the menstrual cycle may influence integration of spatial position and temporal sequence of objects in episodic memory, with memory performance being better during the mid-LP than during the late-FP. This effect on episodic memory may be due to enhanced cognitive control.

Key words: episodic memory, menstrual cycle, cognitive control, P300, LPC, event-related potential

LI Jianhua, XIE Jiajia, ZHUANG Jin-Ying. (2022). An effect of menstrual cycle phase on episodic memory. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 54(5), 466-480.

Figures/Tables 11

Figure 1. Examples of experimental materials.

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of learning stage (A) and test stage (B, taking memorizing objects and positions as examples) of experiment 1.

Table 1 The accuracy of two tests and the paired sample t-test for the first and second test.

Task Type	first participation (M ± SE)	second participation (M ± SE)	t	Degree of freedom	p	95% CI	Effect size
O task	0.95 ± 0.01	0.93 ± 0.02	0.83	32	0.379	-0.02, 0.06	0.152
P task	0.70 ± 0.03	0.74 ± 0.05	-0.69	32	0.497	-0.16, 0.08	0.120
OO task	0.86 ± 0.03	0.94 ± 0.03	-1.95	32	0.061	-0.17, -0.004	0.337
OP task	0.44 ± 0.04	0.45 ± 0.04	-0.18	32	0.861	-0.10, 0.08	0.032
PO task	0.55 ± 0.06	0.64 ± 0.61	-1.25	32	0.220	-0.24, 0.06	0.218

Table 2 The mean accuracy (M ± SE) of each task during the two phases of the menstrual cycle

Task Type	Menstrual cycle
Task Type	late follicular phase	mid-luteal phase
O task	0.93 ± 0.02	0.95 ± 0.02
P task	0.71 ± 0.03	0.73 ± 0.05
OO task	0.88 ± 0.03	0.93 ± 0.02
OP task	0.41 ± 0.05	0.48 ± 0.04
PO task	0.46 ± 0.06	0.72 ± 0.06

Figure 3. Accuracy of five tasks in two phases of menstrual cycle.

Figure 4. Schematic flow diagram of memory stage (A) and test stage (B) in Experiment 2.

Figure 5. Regions of interest (ROI) for EEG data analysis.

Table 3 Accuracy, sensitivity and response bias results of individuals in late follicular phase and mid-luteal phase (standard deviation in brackets)

Menstrual cycle	accuracy (%)	sensitivity d'	response bias β
late-FP	77.80 (11.02)	1.76 (1.11)	1.29 (1.43)
mid-LP	81.34 (10.19)	2.14 (1.12)	1.59 (3.58)

Figure 6. The waveforms of N1, P300, and LPC, in which significant differences between two phases of menstrual cycle is in red, green, and purple highlight, respectively.

Figure 7. Topography of N1 (A), P300 (B), LPC (C) in two phases of menstrual cycle (red highlight electrodes representing the significant difference between two phases).

Figure 8. A. Sensitivity is correlated with the average amplitude of 260~320 ms of the right-frontal electrodes. Accuracy (B) and sensitivity (C) are correlated with the average amplitude of 100~160 ms of CPz.

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