Effects of Menstrual Cycle on Working Memory and its Correlation with Menstrual Distress Score: A Cross-sectional Study
CC01-CC05
Correspondence
Dr. Soumen Manna,
Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, Room No. 323, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi-110029, India.
E-mail: drsoumen.manna@gmail.com
Introduction: The menstrual cycle is a well-known physiological model for studying the effects of ovarian steroid hormones on cognitive functions, such as Working Memory (WM). Hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle also affect menstrual distress related symptoms, which can independently affect cognitive functions. However, data regarding changes in WM functions during different phases of the menstrual cycle and the correlation of various WM functions with menstrual distress-related symptoms have been inconclusive.
Aim: To examine the verbal and visuospatial WM functions during the proliferative (day 10-14) and secretory phase (day 21-25) of the menstrual cycle and to correlate various WM functions with menstrual distress symptom scores.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study was carried out in the Department of Physiology at VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India, over a period of 18 months, from November 2020 to May 2022. A total of 40 young adult females with a history of regular menstrual cycles were selected for the study. Computerised software-based dual-task n-back WM tasks were given twice in the same menstrual cycle- first during the proliferative phase (day 10-14) and second during the secretory phase (day 21-25). In addition, a standardised Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MDQ) based on various menstrual distress symptoms was administered to each subject after completion of the WM task, first during the proliferative phase (day 10-14) and second during the secretory phase (day 21-25). Based on the MDQ, a Menstrual Distress Score (MDS) was calculated. Descriptive statistics, such as mean, median, standard deviation, and mode, were calculated, and Pearson’s coefficient/Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to assess the correlation between WM parameters and MDS. Data were compiled and analysed using the statistical software Graph Pad Prism.
Results: The mean age of the study population was 23.4 years, with an average menstrual cycle length of 30 days. In the WM task, the overall proportion of correct responses across all tasks was significantly better in the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle than in the proliferative phase (p-value=0.040). Similarly, significantly improved performance in WM tasks during the secretory phase was also seen in the overall hit rate of the visual target (p-value=0.020) and auditory targets (p-value=0.044). On the other hand, the correlation of WM parameters with MDS did not show any statistical significance, except for a significant negative correlation (r-value -0.369; p-value=0.019) between the parametric sensitivity (subject’s ability to correctly distinguish a target from a non-target) of auditory WM in the secretory phase and MDS in the proliferative phase.
Conclusion: The visual and auditory WM skills were significantly improved during the secretory phase compared to the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle in terms of the target hit rate. However, increased MDS had no significant detrimental effect on the performance of WM tasks during the normal menstrual cycle.