scholarly journals Sex and Menstrual Phase Influences on Sleep and Memory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandra Alonso ◽  
Lisa Genzel ◽  
Angela Gomez
Keyword(s):  
Menstrual Cycle ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Circadian Regulation ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Menstrual Phase ◽  
Sexual Hormones ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
And Performance

Abstract Purposes of Review This review highlights the effect of sex differences in sleep mediated memory consolidation and cognitive performance. In addition, the role of menstrual cycle and the fluctuating level of sexual hormones (mainly oestrogen and progesterone) are stressed. Recent Findings The literature indicates that sex hormones mediate and orchestrate the differences observed in performance of females in comparison with males in a variety of tasks and can also be related to how sleep benefits cognition. Although the exact mechanism of such influence is not clear, it most likely involves differential activation of brain areas, sensitivity to neuromodulators (mainly oestrogen), circadian regulation of sleep and temperature, as well as modification of strategies to solve tasks across the menstrual cycle. Summary With the evidence presented here, we hope to encourage researchers to develop appropriate paradigms to study the complex relationship between menstrual cycle, sleep (its regulation, architecture and electrophysiological hallmarks) and performance in memory and other cognitive tasks.

scholarly journals Temporal expression and signalling of prostacyclin receptor in the human endometrium across the menstrual cycle

Reproduction ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Battersby ◽  
H O D Critchley ◽  
A J de Brum-Fernandes ◽  
H N Jabbour
Keyword(s):  
Menstrual Cycle ◽  
Human Endometrium ◽  
Menstrual Phase ◽  
Temporal Expression ◽  
Prostacyclin Receptor ◽  
Camp Generation ◽  
Ip Receptor ◽  
And Function ◽  
Cellular Compartments

Prostacyclin (PGI2) synthesis and function in the human uterus has been implicated in the regulation of the process of normal and dysfunctional menstruation. PGI2synthesis is elevated during normal menstruation and is also associated with blood loss in women who suffer from heavy menses. This study was designed to outline further the role of PGI2in menstruation by investigating the temporal pattern and site of expression of prostaglandin I synthase (PGIS) and the prostacyclin receptor (IP receptor) in the non-pregnant human endometrium across the menstrual cycle. Quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated increased expression of PGIS and IP receptor during the menstrual phase of the cycle compared with all other phases (P< 0.05). Furthermore, PGIS and IP receptor were localised to the glandular epithelium, stromal and endothelial cells in the basal and functional layers of the endometrium. Functionality of the IP receptor in the human endometrium was assessed by measuring cAMP generation following treatment with 100 nmol l−1of the PGI2analogue, iloprost. cAMP generation was significantly higher in endometrial tissue collected during the proliferative compared with the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle (P< 0.05).In conclusion, this study has confirmed increased expression and signalling of PGIS and IP receptor during the menstrual phase and outlines a potential autocrine/paracrine role for PGI2on several cellular compartments in the endometrium including the endothelium. This may underscore a pivotal role for PGI2receptor signalling in normal and dysfunctional menstruation.

‘To Show … and so to Publish’

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Scott
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Textual Authority ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Narrative Poems ◽  
Print Reading ◽  
Rape Of Lucrece ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter examines Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece within the context of the relationship between word and performance. Tracing the poems’ exploration of both action and affect, it examines the multiple forms through which representation becomes authoritative. Beginning with Venus, it focuses on the relationship between performance—sexual, artistic, theatrical, and authorial—and response, emotional, physical, and amorous. Developing the dynamic between action and affect, The Rape of Lucrece produces a complex relationship between knowledge and representation in which the legibility of the body emerges as a powerful and often destructive marker of authority. In this poem the language of print—reading, writing, interpreting, and reproducing—imaginatively reconstructs the body in action. Situating these narrative poems within the context of dramatic performance and textual authority, the chapter highlights the role of the narrative poems in the development of Shakespeare’s dramatic art.

Hippocampal Theta Activity and Learning: A Reply to Douglas

1969 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 580-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Electrical Activity ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Theta Activity ◽  
Hippocampal Theta Activity ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Hippocampal Theta ◽  
Learning And Performance

Adey and his associates have asserted that theta electrical activity recorded from the hippocampus during learning and performance reflects the role of this structure in information processing, decision making and memory consolidation. This notion was recently questioned by Douglas (1967) who concluded that the tasks employed by Adey and his associates to assess theta activity were tasks which the lesion literature indicated do not requite hippocampal functioning to be learned. The present paper questions Douglas' assertion by describing studies in the lesion literature which demonstrate that the tasks used by Adey and his co-workers may actually require hippocampal functioning to be learned.

scholarly journals Menstrual phase-dependent differences in neurobehavioral performance: the role of temperature and the progesterone/estradiol ratio

SLEEP ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leilah K Grant ◽  
Joshua J Gooley ◽  
Melissa A St Hilaire ◽  
Shantha M W Rajaratnam ◽  
George C Brainard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Menstrual Cycle ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Sex Hormones ◽  
Luteal Phase ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Sleep Loss ◽  
Follicular Phase ◽  
Menstrual Phase ◽  
Nighttime Light

Abstract Study objectives Women in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle exhibit better cognitive performance overnight than women in the follicular phase, although the mechanism is unknown. Given the link between core body temperature (CBT) and performance, one potential mechanism is the thermoregulatory role of progesterone (P4), estradiol (E2), and their ratio (P4/E2), which change across the menstrual cycle. We examined the role of P4/E2 in modulating performance during extended wake in premenopausal women. Additionally, we compared the acute effects of nighttime light exposure on performance, CBT, and hormones between the menstrual phases. Methods Participants were studied during a 50 h constant routine and a 6.5 h monochromatic nighttime light exposure. Participants were 16 healthy, naturally cycling women (eight follicular; eight luteal). Outcome measures included reaction time, attentional failures, self-reported sleepiness, CBT, melatonin, P4, and E2. Results As compared to women in the luteal phase, women in the follicular phase exhibited worse performance overnight. CBT was significantly associated with performance, P4, and P4/E2 but not with other sex hormones. Sex hormones were not directly related to performance. Light exposure that suppressed melatonin improved performance in the follicular phase (n = 4 per group) to levels observed during the luteal phase and increased CBT but without concomitant changes in P4/E2. Conclusions Our results underscore the importance of considering menstrual phase when assessing cognitive performance during sleep loss in women and indicate that these changes are driven predominantly by CBT. Furthermore, this study shows that vulnerability to sleep loss during the follicular phase may be resolved by exposure to light.

scholarly journals Pitfalls in Sleep and Memory Research and How to Avoid Them: A Consensus Paper

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dezso Nemeth ◽  
Emilie Gerbier ◽  
Jan Born ◽  
Timothy Rickard ◽  
Genevieve Albouy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Experimental Designs ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Memory Research ◽  
Repetitive Tasks ◽  
Consensus Paper ◽  
And Performance

Understanding the complex relationship between sleep and memory is a major challenge in neuroscience. Thousands of studies on memory consolidation in humans suggest that sleep triggers offline memory processes, resulting in less forgetting of declarative memory and performance stabilization in non-declarative memory. However, an increasing number of contradictory findings reveal potential issues with how research is conducted in this field and call into question the reliability and interpretation of the results. In this consensus paper, we describe four sets of prevalent methodological pitfalls in human sleep and memory research: (i) non-optimal experimental designs, (ii) task complexity, (iii) fatigue effects in repetitive tasks, and (iv) inappropriate data analysis practices. We then offer solutions to each of these pitfalls. We believe that implementing these solutions in future research of sleep and memory will lead to more reliable results and significantly advance our understanding in this field.

Menstrual Cycle, Arousal-Induction, and Intelligence Test Performance

1996 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veena Kumari ◽  
Philip J. Corr
Keyword(s):  
Menstrual Cycle ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Intelligence Test ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Menstrual Phase ◽  
Ability Test ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Pressure Stress

Regularly menstruating students (aged 19 to 25 yr.) were tested in the morning under high and low arousal-induction conditions (with time-pressure instructions vs without time-pressure instructions) during either midcycle ( n = 16) or menstruation phase ( n = 16) to study the interactive effects of menstrual phases and time-pressure stress-induced arousal on intelligence test scores on Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices and Hundal's General Mental Ability Test. A crossover interactive effect of menstrual phase and stress-induced arousal was found on performance of the Hundal test, suggesting that performance of subjects who were tested during the midcycle phase (putatively High Basal Arousal) was impaired under the time-pressure instructions condition (High-induced Arousal) as compared to performance under the without time-pressure instructions condition (Low-induced Arousal), with the reverse pattern of effects being true for subjects who were tested during the menstruation phase. Scores on Hundal's test conform to the Yerkes-Dodson (1908) law which relates arousal to task performance and suggests that the menstrual cycle and performance on the intelligence test was arousal-based. No effects, however, were observed for Raven's Matrices, raising the possibility that task characteristics may mediate the relationship between arousal and performance.

scholarly journals 0110 Fluctuations Across the Menstrual Cycle in Cardiac Autonomic Activity During Sleep and Wake May Affect Memory Consolidation

SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A43-A44
Author(s):  
N Sattari ◽  
K Simon ◽  
S Mednick
Keyword(s):  
Menstrual Cycle ◽  
Rem Sleep ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Parasympathetic Activity ◽  
Autonomic Activity ◽  
Menstrual Phase ◽  
Memory Improvement ◽  
Cardiac Autonomic Activity

Abstract Introduction Prior studies have shown that benefits of sleep for memory consolidation may be influenced by menstrual phase. Menstrual phase also impact autonomic regulation during sleep, and autonomic activity has been recently shown to play a role in sleep-dependent memory consolidation. Methods We investigated the interaction of menstrual cycle and autonomic activity measured by heart rate-variability (HRV) on sleep-dependent memory consolidation among 18-healthy females. Using a within-subjects design, we investigated episodic memory improvement with a nap paradigm during two phases of women’s menstrual cycle: 1) perimenses: −5 to +5 days from menses-onset, and 2) non-perimenses: window outside of perimenses. Subjects completed the memory test before (Test1) and after (Test2) a 90-minute polysomnographically (PSG)-recorded nap. We recorded sleep and HRV during 5-minutes of wake, and during the nap. Next, we compared sleep, HRV (RMSSD and HFnu), and memory performance between the two menstrual phases. Results Sleep architecture did not differ between perimenses and non-perimenses. Women performed similarly on the memory task at Test 1 (all ps&gt;.061), but at Test 2, non-perimenses showed better performance (p = 0.02). Autonomically, perimenses had higher parasympathetic activity during wake (RMSSD-p = 0.04) and REM-sleep (HFnu-p = 0.04), compared with non-perimenses. Using bivariate correlations, we found positive associations between wake-HFnu and memory improvement (p = .02) during perimenses. In contrast, non-perimenses’ memory improvement was negatively correlated with wake-RMSSD (p &lt;.001). In perimenses, memory improvement was also positively associtated with REM-HFnu (p = .04). No associations were found between autonomic sleep activity and memory in non-perimenses phase. Conclusion Our findings indicate a role for autonomic activity in memory improvement in both sleep and wake that is modulated by the menstrual cycle. HRV measures of parasympathetic activity were higher during perimenses phase in wake and REM-sleep. Interestingly, the HRV measures showed opposing relations with memory improvement based on the phase of the menstrual cycle. In sum, women’s cardiac autonomic activity fluctuates by menstrual phase and it is possible that these fluctuations affect the magnitude and direction of sleep-related memory consolidation. Support Sattari et al., 2017; Genzel et al., 2012; de Zambotti et al., 2013; Whitehurst et al., 2016.

scholarly journals Four Pitfalls in Sleep and Memory Research and How to Avoid Them

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dezso Nemeth ◽  
Emilie Gerbier ◽  
Karolina Janacsek
Keyword(s):  
Performance Improvement ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Experimental Designs ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Memory Research ◽  
Repetitive Tasks ◽  
And Performance

Understanding the complex relationship between sleep and memory is one of the biggest challenges in neuroscience. Thousands of studies on memory consolidation suggest that sleep triggers offline memory processes, resulting in less forgetting in declarative memory and performance improvement in non-declarative memory. However, an increasing number of contradictory findings reveal potential issues with how research is conducted in this field, that weaken the reliability of these results. Here we describe four methodological pitfalls with respect to experimental designs and statistical analyses that should be avoided in order to unveil the true effect of sleep on memory consolidation: non-optimal experimental designs, task complexity, fatigue effect in repetitive tasks, and data analysis and availability. We then offer solutions that can be used in future research of sleep-dependent consolidation and also more broadly in memory research.

scholarly journals Menstrual Cycle Modulates Motor Learning and Memory Consolidation in Humans

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 696
Author(s):  
Koyuki Ikarashi ◽  
Daisuke Sato ◽  
Kaho Iguchi ◽  
Yasuhiro Baba ◽  
Koya Yamashiro
Keyword(s):  
Menstrual Cycle ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Premenstrual Syndrome ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Menstrual Phase ◽  
Final Performance ◽  
Sensorimotor Skills

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.

Light Exposure, Melatonin Secretion, and Menstrual Cycle Parameters: An Integrative Review

2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Lee Barron
Keyword(s):  
Menstrual Cycle ◽  
Ovarian Function ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Polycystic Ovary ◽  
Menstrual Phase ◽  
Melatonin Secretion ◽  
Menstrual Cycles ◽  
Current State ◽  
Dark Exposure

Dysfunction in menstrual physiology has pronounced effects on quality of life, involving mood changes, body image, infertility, and pregnancy complications. Light exposure may affect menstrual cycles and symptoms through the influence of melatonin secretion. The purpose of this systematic review is to determine the current state of knowledge about the effects of light and melatonin secretion on menstrual phase and cycle alterations. A brief overview of the influence of melatonin on human physiology is included. There is evidence of a relationship between light exposure and melatonin secretion and irregular menstrual cycles, menstrual cycle symptoms, and disordered ovarian function. In women with a psychopathology such as bipolar disorder or an endocrinopathy such as polycystic ovary syndrome, there seems to be greater vulnerability to the influence of light—dark exposure. Research on the complex role of light—dark exposure in menstrual physiology has implications for treatment of menstrual-associated disorders.

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