• M Thimm, S Weis, M Hausmann, and W Sturm.
• Department of Neurology, Section Clinical Neuropsychology, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany. Electronic address: mthimm@ukaachen.de.
• Neuroscience. 2014 Jan 31;258:307-17.

AbstractIt 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.Copyright © 2013 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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