Emotion recognition and mood along the menstrual cycle

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Previous research suggests menstrual cycle phase influences facial emotion recognition, with conflicting findings regarding peri-ovulatory and mid-luteal phases.
• Hormonal fluctuations, particularly estradiol and progesterone, are hypothesized to underlie these observed changes, potentially mirroring mood shifts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether mood changes mediate alterations in emotion recognition performance throughout the menstrual cycle.
• To examine the relationship between menstrual cycle phase, emotion recognition, and mood states.

Main Methods:

• A combined cross-sectional and longitudinal study design was employed with two large samples of women.
• Participants completed an emotion recognition task and mood questionnaires during menses, peri-ovulatory, and mid-luteal phases.
• Bayesian statistics were used to assess the evidence for the null hypothesis.

Main Results:

• No significant changes in emotion recognition performance (accuracy, reaction time, classification frequency) were found across menstrual cycle phases.
• Bayesian analysis provided strong evidence supporting the null hypothesis: emotion recognition is not significantly altered by the menstrual cycle.
• Mood changes followed expected patterns, but did not moderate emotion recognition performance. Estradiol showed a negative correlation with premenstrual symptoms.

Conclusions:

• Emotion recognition performance remains stable throughout the menstrual cycle, contrary to some previous hypotheses.
• Mood fluctuations during the menstrual cycle do not appear to mediate changes in emotion recognition.
• Estradiol may offer a protective effect against mood deterioration in the premenstrual phase.