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Menstruation and Ovulation: The Effect on Clear Thinking and Emotional Regulation

Sean Vanhille Southern Utah University Mentored by Dr. Steve Barney & Dr. Lynn White. Menstruation and Ovulation: The Effect on Clear Thinking and Emotional Regulation . The Question:.

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Menstruation and Ovulation: The Effect on Clear Thinking and Emotional Regulation

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  1. Sean Vanhille Southern Utah University Mentored by Dr. Steve Barney & Dr. Lynn White Menstruation and Ovulation: The Effect on Clear Thinking and Emotional Regulation

  2. The Question: • Does cognition (specifically clear thinking and emotional regulation) vary between menstruation and ovulation in the menstrual cycle?

  3. Cognition • Definition • The ability of a human being to process and utilize information to influence behavior • What Influences Cognition? • Substance Abuse • Biology • Stress • Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

  4. Hormones and Cognition • Repetitive task performance high • Improved verbal fluency, verbal working memory span, and spatial memory • Improved perceptual speed

  5. Mood and Cycle • Fluctuates across the menstrual cycle • Generally begin to experience negative affect soon after ovulation • Often declines rapidly after menstruation

  6. Executive Functioning and Cycle • Solis-Ortiz et al. 2004 • Wisconsin Card Sorting Test • resource allocation • focused attention • decision making • planning • Performance high during ovulation when progesterone levels are high • Ossewaarde et al. 2010 • During menstruation, stress sensitivity increases which impacts brain areas associated with emotional regulation

  7. What Influences Clear Thinking? • Increases • Message therapy aided clear thinking • High serotonin levels may aid clear thinking • Decreases • Emergency situations • Typically induce stress • Fatigue in patients with fibromyalgia showed impediment

  8. What Influences Emotional Regulation? • Children learn through naturalistic observation • Personality traits like extraversion and neuroticism • Reappraisal or suppression • Age

  9. Methodological Limitations of Past Studies • Small sample size • Limited age span • Often undergraduates, ages 18 to 24 • Ovulation detection • Basal Body Temperature and Day Counts are frequently used • Inaccurate (Epting & Overman, 1998)

  10. Limited Research • Little research done in the last decade • Limited research on aspects of cognition • Even fewer on executive functioning

  11. Method • Participants-recruited via fliers • SUU • Ages 18-35 • Exclude any that have: • menstrual cycle irregularities • taking birth control • taking hormonal medications • suffering from substance abuse • diagnosed with learning disabilities • “Normal” healthy women

  12. Materials • Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM) • Assess clear thinking • Split-half reliability between .83 and .87 • Retest reliability of .91

  13. Materials • State Meta-Mood Scale (SMMS) • Assess mood and emotional regulation • More specific and comprehensive than previous scales in regards to emotional regulation

  14. Materials • One Step (LH) Ovulation Test Strips by Devon Medical and Plastic Cups

  15. Procedure • Receive instructions to use ovulation test strips properly • Will take the SMMS and RAPM during menstruation and ovulation • Test administration will be counter-balanced • Menstruation determined by persistent bleeding • Ovulation determined by test strips

  16. Procedure • Participants will contact the principle investigator to meet within 24 to 48 hours to administer tests • Participants will take half of each test to avoid practice effects • The order of which part of the cycle comes first is unimportant

  17. Statistical Analyses • 2-way Mixed ANOVA • Factors • Age • Stage of menstrual cycle (menstruation and ovulation) • Dependent Variables • SMMS test scores • RAPM test scores • Prediction? • Emotional Regulation and Clear Thinking will increase during ovulation and decrease during menstruation

  18. If Results are Significant, Then. . . celebration • Emotional regulation and clear thinking are likely different during menstruation and ovulation • Infer that hormones may account for this • A significant contribution to the literature on cognition during the menstrual cycle • Specifically regarding executive functioning

  19. Questions & References • Solis-Ortiz, S., Guevara, M., & Corsi-Cabrera, M. (2004). Performance in a test demanding prefrontal functions is favored by early luteal phase progesterone: an electroencephalographic study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 29(8), 1047-1057. • Ossewaarde, L., Hermans, E., van Wingen, G., Kooijman, S., Johansson, I., Bäckström, T., et al. (2010). Neural mechanisms underlying changes in stress-sensitivity across the menstrual cycle. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 35(1), 47-55. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.08.011.

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