The menstrual cycle is a complex biological process that occurs approximately monthly over the span of a woman‘s reproductive age. In recent years, it has attracted researchers attention in...Show moreThe menstrual cycle is a complex biological process that occurs approximately monthly over the span of a woman‘s reproductive age. In recent years, it has attracted researchers attention in relation to many aspects, such as cognitive processes and mood. However, most research on the topic is relatively recent, findings are inconsistent and much is still to be further investigated. The current study seeks to find out whether the menstrual cycle influences response inhibition and mood. We hypothesized that when women are in the second half of their menstrual cycle (luteal phase, approximately 2 weeks prior to menstruation), they would respond faster and more accurately to cognitive tasks (better response inhibition) and report worse mood than those who were in the first part of their menstrual cycle (menses to ovulation). We recruited 60 healthy, naturally cycling women with an average cycle length (21-35 days), aged 18-35 years. To assess response inhibition, they performed the Flanker task and the Go/NoGo task and to assess mood symptoms, the DASS-21, SPANE and BITe questionnaires were used. Additionally, participants answered questionnaires about their menstrual cycle and demographic factors. The experiment was conducted online using PsyToolkit and used a between-subjects design, with each particant tested once. We found no statistically significant main effect of cycle phase on response inhibition or mood. We therefore concluded that the menstrual cycle does not appear to influence response inhibition or mood significantly.Show less
