Menstrual cycle status does not impact exercise-based changes in cerebral blood flow or executive function benefits

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Exercise enhances executive function (EF) and cerebral blood flow (CBF).
• Biologically female participants are underrepresented in exercise research due to potential menstrual cycle impacts.
• Hormonal fluctuations across the menstrual cycle may influence physiological and psychological responses to exercise.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if menstrual cycle phase affects exercise-induced changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) and executive function (EF) in biologically female participants.
• To compare these effects between the follicular (FOL) and luteal (LUT) phases in females.
• To compare exercise responses between biologically female and male participants.

Main Methods:

• Biologically female participants underwent moderate-intensity exercise during FOL and LUT phases.
• Biologically male participants completed a similar exercise session.
• Cerebral blood flow was estimated using middle cerebral artery velocity (MCAv).
• Executive function was assessed using the antisaccade task before and after exercise.

Main Results:

• Resting MCAv was higher in the LUT phase compared to the FOL phase.
• The exercise-induced increase in MCAv was similar across menstrual cycle phases and between sexes.
• Executive function, measured by antisaccade reaction time, improved similarly post-exercise across all conditions.
• The magnitude of EF improvement was equivalent between FOL and LUT phases and between females and males.

Conclusions:

• Menstrual cycle phase does not alter the exercise-induced benefits to cerebral blood flow or executive function.
• Exercise benefits on EF and CBF are consistent regardless of menstrual cycle status in females.
• Biologically female participants should not be excluded from exercise and EF research based on menstrual cycle phase.