Table 4.
Menstrual cycle studies on emotion processing.
| Authors and design | Subjects | Cycle phases | Design | Task | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMOTION RECOGNITION | |||||
| Derntl et al., 2013 | 37 NC | 2–5/18–25 | c.s | Facial emotion recognition | ↓ Accuracy mid-luteal phase |
| Affective responsiveness | ↓ reaction times mid-luteal phase | ||||
| Conway et al., 2007 | 52 NC | Low P/high P | Long | Facial emotion recognition (averted gaze) | ↑ fearful faces perceived as more intense in high P |
| Derntl et al., 2008a | 32 NC | 7–13/15–27 | c.s | Facial emotion recognition | ↓ Overall accuracy luteal phase |
| Memory of emotion recognition | No difference across cycle phases | ||||
| Guapo et al., 2009 | 30 NC | 1–5/12–14/21–23 | c.s | Facial emotion recognition | ↓ Accuracy mid-luteal phase for sad faces |
| van Wingen et al., 2007 | 16 NC | Day 2–7 | P treatment | Facial recognition | ↓ Accuracy in P-treated |
| Gasbarri et al., 2008 | 56 NC | 1–2/4–13/14–32 | c.s | Working memory for facial emotion recognition | ↓ Accuracy for sad and disgusted faces in late follicular phase |
| EMOTIONAL MEMORY | |||||
| Bayer et al., 2014 | 22 NC | 1–4/17–23 | Long | Emotional memory (IAPS) | ↓ Midluteal recognition for negative items |
| Ertman et al., 2011 | 60 NC | 1–14/15–28 | c.s. | Emotional memory (IAPS) | ↑ Luteal free recall of negative items |
| Nielsen et al., 2013 | 42 NC/36 OC | 1–14/15–28 | c.s. | Emotional memory (narrative) | ↑ Luteal memory for peripheral details |
| Andreano et al., 2008 | 64 NC | 1–7/8–13/18–24 | c.s. | Emotional memory (narrative) ± CPS | No effect of stress or cycle phase on recall |
| Felmingham et al., 2012 | 56 NC | High P/low P | c.s. | Emotional memory (IAPS) ± CPS | ↑ memory during stress in high P |
| Kuhlmann and Wolf, 2005 | 27 NC/20 OC | 2–4/20–24 | Cortisol/placebo | Emotional memory (negative/neutral words) | No difference in cortiol-induced retrieval impairment |
| FEAR LEARNING | |||||
| Merz et al., 2012 | 60 NC/30 OC | 3–8/20–26 | c.s | Fear conditioning + cortisol/placebo | No difference across cycle phases |
| Milad et al., 2010 | 36 NC | High E2/low E2 | c.s | Fear conditioning + fear extinction | No difference between groups |
| Zeidan et al., 2011 | 34 NC | High E2/low E2 | c.s | Fear conditioning + fear extinction | No difference between groups |
| Fear extinction recall | ↓ recovery of fear in high E2 | ||||
| Graham and Milad, 2013 | 31 NC | Day 1–5 | E2 treatment | Fear conditioning + fear extinction | No difference |
| Fear extinction recall | ↓ recovery of fear in E2-treated | ||||
| SPONTANEOUS INTRUSIVE RECOLLECTIONS | |||||
| Ferree et al., 2011 | 54 NC | 1–13/15–28 | c.s | Film clips | ↑ SIR in early luteal phase |
| Soni et al., 2013 | 41 NC | 7–11/16–20/24–28 | c.s | Film clips | ↑ SIR in early luteal phase |
NC, normal cycling; OC, oral contraceptive users; E2, estradiol; P, progesterone, c.s., cross-sectional; long, longitudinal-balanced; SIR, Spontaneous intrusive recollections;, IAPS, International Affective Picture System; CPS, cold pressor stress.