How the brain changes during the menstrual cycle

All of these changes are due to fluctuations in hormone levels throughout the cycle. In the first days - during menstruation and before ovulation - the level of estrogen and progesterone is low. In the middle of the cycle, in the ovulation phase, estrogen increases, and after the end of ovulation, in the luteal phase, both estrogen and progesterone increase.

These hormonal fluctuations make a woman think, feel and act differently.

Below we will analyze what changes during the cycle.

Conscious and unconscious memory

With an increase in the amount of estrogen in women, implicit (procedural) memory improves. This is a type of memory in which you act on the basis of past events, but are not aware of it. It helps you perform actions automatically.

In addition, female sex hormones affect the brain structures responsible for lucid memory: the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. Estrogen increases the amount of gray matter in the "memory store" of the hippocampus and increases the activity of the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for working memory - the ability to hold information in your mind while you work with it. In addition to working memory, the prefrontal cortex also affects the ability to control our emotions and overcome fear.

Ability to control emotions and deal with fear

At the beginning of the cycle, when the amount of female sex hormones decreases, the amygdala, which is responsible for emotions, is less subordinate to the cerebral cortex. Therefore, before menstruation and before ovulation, it can be more difficult for a woman to control emotional manifestations.

In addition, estrogen helps manage fear. At a reduced level of this hormone, the expression of the HDAC4 gene, associated with learning, long-term memory, and behavior, increases. At the same time, the memory of fear lasts longer, so anxiety increases during the premenstrual and menstrual periods.

During and after ovulation, estrogen lowers HDAC4 gene expression, helping to quickly forget fear and cope with anxiety.

Moreover, estrogen increases the ability to feel fear of others. This explains why women have more developed empathy.

Ability to view a problem from different angles

The human brain works asymmetrically: when performing some tasks, more activity is observed in one of the hemispheres. For example, in right-handers, the left is mainly responsible for speech, and the right for musical abilities. This functional asymmetry is called brain lateralization.

In men, lateralization is more pronounced, the interaction within the hemispheres is higher, due to which the connection between perception and action is more developed. In women, however, the connection between the hemispheres is stronger and the interaction between analytical and intuitive perception is better.

But if in men the lateralization of the brain is always approximately the same, in women it depends on the phase of the cycle. With an increase in the level of sex hormones, the lateralization of the brain increases. Hormones activate the left hemisphere, and the work of the right hemisphere is inhibited.

During menstruation, when estrogen and progesterone levels are low, the right hemisphere takes over.

Therefore, if a woman has time to think about a problem for a month, she can look at her as two different people and most likely make the right decision.

The menstrual cycle can be problematic, but it also provides women with empathy and empathy.