Skip to main content
. 2014 Nov 24;8:380. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00380

Table 1.

Menstrual cycle studies on mental rotation.

Authors and design Subjects Cycle phases Task Result Cohen's d (error rate) E2 correlationsc
LONGITUDINAL
Gordon and Lee, 1993a 34 NC/34 OC 2–3/10–14/20–24 Shepard Metzler No effect of phase or OC
Epting and Overman, 1998 27 NC 3–4/21–22 Male figures No effect of phase 0.06
Hausmann et al., 2000 8 NC 2/22 Vandenberg Kuse ↑ early follicular 0.84 −0.48/−0.70*e
Dietrich et al., 2001 6 NC Menses/11–12 Vandenberg Kuse no effect of Phase
Maki et al., 2002 16 NC 1–3/19–24 Vandenberg Kuse ↑ early follicular 0.97 −0.51*
Schoning et al., 2007 20 NC 1–3/21–25 Vandenberg Kuse No effect of phase 0.22
Mordecai et al., 2008 16 NC/20 OC 2–4/20–22 Vandenberg Kuse No effect of phase or OC 0.03
Kozaki and Yasukouchi, 2009 16 NC 1–3/high E2 Shepard Metzler No effect of phase 0.33
Griksiene and Ruksenas, 2011 20 NC/23 OC 2–5/14/20 Shepard Metzler No effect of phase or OCf
Courvoisier et al., 2013b 7 NC Once daily 8 weeks Shepard Metzler ↑ at low E2 phases 0.26
CROSS-SECTIONAL
Halari et al., 2005c 42 NC 3–7 Vandenberg Kuse No hormonal correlations −0.29
Hampson et al., 2014c,d 44 NC Low-E2/highE2 Vandenberg Kuse ↑ low E2 1.14 −0.37*
Clock rotation test, easy No effect of phase 0.11
Clock rotation test, hard ↑ low E2 0.85 −0.38*

NC, normal cycling; OC, oral contraceptive users; E2, estradiol.

a

A composite score consisting of Shepard Metzler, 3D clocks, point location, and a test of perceptual closure was reported.

b

Unbalanced design, correlation reported for E2 and error rate.

c

Partial correlation with control for sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), otherwise Pearson's correlation.

d

Low E2 had mean saliva concentration of 3.17 ± 1.0 pg/mL and high E2 6.24 ± 1.7 pg/mL, regardless if tests had been made in the follicular or luteal phases.

e

Two correlation coefficients were reported, from the first and second test session.

f

Third generation OC users had longer reaction times in the mental rotation task than normal cycling women, but did not differ in accuracy.

*

p < 0.05.