Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-1585
Publication type: Article in scientific journal
Type of review: Peer review (publication)
Title: Lack of association between female hormone levels and visuospatial working memory, divided attention and cognitive bias across two consecutive menstrual cycles
Authors: Leeners, Brigitte
Kruger, Tillmann H. C.
Geraedts, Kirsten
Tronci, Enrico
Mancini, Toni
Ille, Fabian
Egli, Marcel
Röblitz, Susanna
Saleh, Lanja
Spanaus, Katharina
Schippert, Cordula
Zhang, Yuangyuang
Hengartner, Michael Pascal
DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00120
10.21256/zhaw-1585
Published in: Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
Volume(Issue): 11
Issue: 120
Issue Date: 4-Jul-2017
Publisher / Ed. Institution: Frontiers Research Foundation
ISSN: 1662-5153
Language: English
Subject (DDC): 610: Medicine and health
Abstract: Background: Interpretation of observational studies on associations between prefrontal cognitive functioning and hormone levels across the female menstrual cycle is complicated due to small sample sizes and poor replicability. Methods: This observational multisite study comprised data of n = 88 menstruating women from Hannover, Germany, and Zurich, Switzerland, assessed during a first cycle and n = 68 re-assessed during a second cycle to rule out practice effects and false-positive chance findings. We assessed visuospatial working memory, attention, cognitive bias and hormone levels at four consecutive time-points across both cycles. In addition to inter-individual differences we examined intra-individual change over time (i.e., within-subject effects). Results: Estrogen, progesterone and testosterone did not relate to inter-individual differences in cognitive functioning. There was a significant negative association between intra-individual change in progesterone and change in working memory from pre-ovulatory to mid-luteal phase during the first cycle, but that association did not replicate in the second cycle. Intra-individual change in testosterone related negatively to change in cognitive bias from menstrual to pre-ovulatory as well as from pre-ovulatory to mid-luteal phase in the first cycle, but these associations did not replicate in the second cycle. Conclusions: There is no consistent association between women's hormone levels, in particular estrogen and progesterone, and attention, working memory and cognitive bias. That is, anecdotal findings observed during the first cycle did not replicate in the second cycle, suggesting that these are false-positives attributable to random variation and systematic biases such as practice effects. Due to methodological limitations, positive findings in the published literature must be interpreted with reservation.
URI: https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/2219
Fulltext version: Published version
License (according to publishing contract): CC BY 4.0: Attribution 4.0 International
Departement: Applied Psychology
Organisational Unit: Psychological Institute (PI)
Appears in collections:Publikationen Angewandte Psychologie

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Leeners, B., Kruger, T. H. C., Geraedts, K., Tronci, E., Mancini, T., Ille, F., Egli, M., Röblitz, S., Saleh, L., Spanaus, K., Schippert, C., Zhang, Y., & Hengartner, M. P. (2017). Lack of association between female hormone levels and visuospatial working memory, divided attention and cognitive bias across two consecutive menstrual cycles. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 11(120). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00120
Leeners, B. et al. (2017) ‘Lack of association between female hormone levels and visuospatial working memory, divided attention and cognitive bias across two consecutive menstrual cycles’, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 11(120). Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00120.
B. Leeners et al., “Lack of association between female hormone levels and visuospatial working memory, divided attention and cognitive bias across two consecutive menstrual cycles,” Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, vol. 11, no. 120, Jul. 2017, doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00120.
LEENERS, Brigitte, Tillmann H. C. KRUGER, Kirsten GERAEDTS, Enrico TRONCI, Toni MANCINI, Fabian ILLE, Marcel EGLI, Susanna RÖBLITZ, Lanja SALEH, Katharina SPANAUS, Cordula SCHIPPERT, Yuangyuang ZHANG und Michael Pascal HENGARTNER, 2017. Lack of association between female hormone levels and visuospatial working memory, divided attention and cognitive bias across two consecutive menstrual cycles. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 4 Juli 2017. Bd. 11, Nr. 120. DOI 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00120
Leeners, Brigitte, Tillmann H. C. Kruger, Kirsten Geraedts, Enrico Tronci, Toni Mancini, Fabian Ille, Marcel Egli, et al. 2017. “Lack of Association between Female Hormone Levels and Visuospatial Working Memory, Divided Attention and Cognitive Bias across Two Consecutive Menstrual Cycles.” Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 11 (120). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00120.
Leeners, Brigitte, et al. “Lack of Association between Female Hormone Levels and Visuospatial Working Memory, Divided Attention and Cognitive Bias across Two Consecutive Menstrual Cycles.” Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, vol. 11, no. 120, July 2017, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00120.


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