Menstrual Cycle Modulates Motor Learning and Memory Consolidation in Humans

Abstract

Numerous studies have noted that sex and/or menstrual phase influences cognitive performance (in particular, declarative memory), but the effects on motor learning (ML) and procedural memory/consolidation remain unclear. In order to test the hypothesis that ML differs across menstrual cycle phases, initial ML, overlearning, consolidation, and final performance were assessed in women in the follicular, preovulation and luteal phases. Primary motor cortex (M1) oscillations were assessed neuro-physiologically, and premenstrual syndrome and interoceptive awareness scores were assessed psychologically. We found not only poorer performance gain through initial ML but also lower final performance after overlearning a day and a week later in the luteal group than in the ovulation group. This behavioral difference could be explained by particular premenstrual syndrome symptoms and associated failure of normal M1 excitability in the luteal group. In contrast, the offline effects, i.e., early and late consolidation, did not differ across menstrual cycle phases. These results provide information regarding the best time in which to start learning new sensorimotor skills to achieve expected gains.

The Specificities of Elite Female Athletes: A Multidisciplinary Approach

“…Authors have found similarly mixed results, independently of the tested task or athlete level [ 18 , 19 , 209 , 210 , 211 , 212 , 213 , 214 , 215 , 216 ]. No variation in jumping or sprinting abilities across MC was reported [ 18 , 19 ], but in tennis, it should be noted that, although the speed of the serve did not vary, its accuracy decreased in PeO [ 212 ].…”

“…Bayer et al [ 211 ] suggested that functional cerebral asymmetries, probably due to hormonal modulations in interhemispheric interaction, could affect fine motor coordination across MC, with fluctuations in hand asymmetry. Ikarashi et al [ 215 ] showed a failure of excitability of the primary motor cortex during L vs. PeO, resulting in weaker motor learning and motor performance. In terms of neuromuscular control, some researchers found various changes over MC, similar to findings in muscle co-activation patterns [ 192 , 233 ], whereas others reported no modification [ 209 ].…”

“…No change at all [ 19 , 209 , 210 ] or change in few tasks only [ 211 , 212 ] or in all tasks [ 213 , 214 , 215 , 216 ]…”

Does Motor Memory Reactivation through Practice and Post-Learning Sleep Modulate Consolidation?

“…Participants were pseudo-randomly assigned to one out of 4 groups (see Figure 1 ); gender was balanced within each group. Female participants were tested during their luteal phase to prevent a hormonal bias on motor performance and consolidation [ 59 , 65 ]. All participants were explicitly asked to refrain from drinking caffeine or other stimulating drinks on the testing days, and to keep a regular sleep schedule for the duration of the experiment (starting from 3 days before the learning session until the last retest).…”

The Cycling Brain in the Workplace: Does Workload Modulate the Menstrual Cycle Effect on Cognition?

“…It has long been hypothesized that cognitive performance across the menstrual cycle might vary due to the fluctuation of ovarian hormones. The effect of the menstrual cycle has been found on social preference ( Durante et al, 2014 ; Zhuang and Wang, 2014 ; Wang and Chen, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2021 ), cognitive ability ( Hussain et al, 2016 ; Hidalgo-Lopez and Pletzer, 2017 ; Leeners et al, 2017 ; Pletzer et al, 2017 ; Scheuringer and Pletzer, 2017 ), motor learning ( Ikarashi et al, 2020 ), cortical structures ( Lisofsky et al, 2015 ; Catenaccio et al, 2016 ; Pletzer et al, 2018 ), and brain functions ( Barth et al, 2016 ; Diekhof and Ratnayake, 2016 ; Hidalgo-Lopez and Pletzer, 2019 , 2021 ; Pletzer et al, 2019 ; Wang et al, 2020a ). Moreover, the late follicular or luteal phase advantage on cognition has always been advocated because of high neuroprotective steroids ( Sundstrom-Poromaa and Gingnell, 2014 ; Zhuang et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2021 ).…”