Mapping changes in women’s visual functions during the menstrual cycle
narrative review
Keywords:
Vision disorders, Menstrual cycle, Progesterone, Narrative review [publication type]Abstract
BACKGROUND: This article systematically updates the literature on changes in visual functions during the phases of the normal menstrual cycle in women. OBJECTIVES: To update Guttridge’s 1994 review of visual structures and functions associated with the menstrual cycle and broaden the search through psychophysical, neuroimaging and neurobehavioral measurements covering 1994-2020. DESIGN AND SETTING: Narrative review conducted in a neurosciences and behavior laboratory in Brazil. METHODS: The PubMed, Cochrane Clinical Answers and Google Scholar databases were searched. After screening and applying the eligibility criteria, 32 articles were examined. Through this analysis, the following information was extracted: (1) geographical distribution of the study; (2) sample size(according to age and phase of the menstrual cycle); (3) type of measurements according to psychophysical, neuroimaging and neurobehavioral instruments; (4) vision testing model; (5) visual ubcategory evaluated; (6) categories of processed visual stimuli; and (7) main findings. RESULTS: The menstrual phases give rise to significant changes in visual functions, including in relation to orientation and spatial attention, visual campimetry and visual sensitivity. These relate specifically to the follicular and luteal phases. CONCLUSIONS: These findings theoretically expand the effects of menstrual cycles on visual functions found by Guttridge (1994). Despite some inconsistencies in the studies analyzed, it was found that visual processing during the follicular and luteal phases of the normal menstrual cycle of healthy women can explain physiological, cognitive, behavioral and social modulations.
Downloads
References
Mihm M, Gangooly S, Muttukrishna S. The normal menstrual cycle in women. Anim Reprod Sci. 2011;124(3-4):229-36. PMID: 20869180; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anireprosci.2010.08.030
Park SJ, Goldsmith LT, Weiss G. Age-related changes in the regulation of luteinizing hormone secretion by estrogen in women. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2002;227(7):455-64. PMID: 12094009; http://doi.org/10.1177/153537020222700709
Van Erum J, Van Dam D, De Deyn PP. Sleep and Alzheimer's disease: A pivotal role for the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Sleep Med Rev. 2018;40:17-27. PMID: 29102282; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2017.07.005
Ishii C, Nishino LK, De Campos CAH. Caracterização vestibular no ciclo menstrual. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2009;75(3):375-80. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1808-86942009000300012
Dye L. Variations in CFFT during the menstrual cycle: the effect of benzodiazepines. [thesis]. Leeds: Leeds University; 1989.
Guttridge NM. Changes in ocular and visual variables during the menstrual cycle. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 1994;14(1):38-48. PMID: 8152819; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-1313.1994.tb00555.x
Diamond M, Diamond AL, Mast M. Visual sensitivity and sexual arousal levels during the menstrual cycle. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1972;155(3):170-6. PMID: 5066211; https://doi.org/10.1097/00005053-197209000-00003
Romans SE, Kreindler D, Einstein G, et al. Sleep quality and the menstrual cycle. Sleep Med. 2015;16(4):489-95. PMID: 25747332; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2014.12.001
Kronbauer AL, Schor P, de Carvalho LAV. Medida da visão e testes psicofísicos [Vision measurement and psychophysical tests]. Arq Bras Oftalmol. 2008;71(1):122-7. PMID: 18408854; https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-27492008000100027
Ecochard R, Gougeon A. Side of ovulation and cycle characteristics in normally fertile women. Hum Reprod. 2000;15(4):752-5. PMID: 10739814; http://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/15.4.752
Sy JL, Tomarken AJ, Patel V, Blake R. The time course of binocular rivalry during the phases of the menstrual cycle. J Vis. 2016;16(15):22. PMID: 28006072; https://doi.org/10.1167/16.15.22
Derntl B, Kryspin-Exner I, Fernbach E, Moser E, Habel U. Emotion recognition accuracy in healthy young females is associated with cycle phase. Horm Behav. 2008;53(1):90-5. PMID: 17976599; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.09.006
Krug R, Pietrowsky R, Fehm HL, Born J. Selective influence of menstrual cycle on perception of stimuli with reproductive significance. Psychosom Med. 2000;56(5):410-7. PMID: 7809340; https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-199409000-00005
Yilmaz H, Erkin EF, Mavioǧlu H, Sungurtekin Ü. Changes in pattern reversal evoked potentials during menstrual cycle. Int Ophthalmol. 1998;22(1):27-30. PMID: 10090445; https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1006165126702
Puts DA, Bailey DH, Cárdenas RA, et al. Women's attractiveness changes with estradiol and progesterone across the ovulatory cycle. Horm Behav. 2013;63(1):13-9. PMID: 23159480; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.11.007
Varoquaux G. Cross-validation failure: Small sample sizes lead to large error bars. Neuroimage. 2018;180(Pt-A):68-77. PMID: 28655633; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.06.061
Rubinow DR, Smith MJ, Schenkel LA, Schmidt PJ, Dancer K. Facial emotion discrimination across the menstrual cycle in women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and controls. J Affect Disord. 2007;104(1-3):37-44. PMID: 17367867; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2007.01.031
Akara Y, Yucel I, Akarb ME, Taskin O, Ozer HO. Menstrual cycle-dependent changes in visual field analysis of healthy women. Ophthalmologica. 2005;219(1):30-5. PMID: 15627825; https://doi.org/10.1159/000081780
Abdul Razzak R, Bagust J, Docherty S, et al. Menstrual phase influences gender differences in visual dependence: A study with a computerised Rod and Frame Test. Journal of Cognitive Psychology. 2015;27(1):80-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2014.976227
Webb ALM, Hibbard PB, O’Gorman R. Natural variation in female reproductive hormones does not affect contrast sensitivity. R Soc Open Sci. 2018;5(2): 171566. PMID: 29515869; https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.171566
Kumar S, Mufti M, Kisan R. Variation of reaction time in different phases of menstrual cycle. J Clin Diagn Res. 2013;7(8):1604-5. PMID: 24086851; https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2013/6032.3236
Draper CF, Duisters K, Weger B, et al. Menstrual cycle rhythmicity: metabolic patterns in healthy women. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):14568. PMID: 30275458; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32647-0
Hausmann M. Hemispheric asymmetry in spatial attention across the menstrual cycle. Neuropsychologia. 2005;43(11):1559-67. PMID: 16009238; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.01.017
Darlington CL, Ross A, King J, Smith PF. Menstrual cycle effects on postural stability but not optokinetic function. Neurosci Lett. 2001;307(3):147-50. PMID: 11438385; https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-3940(01)01933-4
Marečková K, Perrin JS, Khan IN, et al. Hormonal contraceptives, menstrual cycle and brain response to faces. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2014;9(2):191-200. PMID: 23175677; https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nss128
Pearson R, Lewis MB. Fear recognition across the menstrual cycle. Horm Behav. 2005;47(3):267-71. PMID: 15708754; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2004.11.003
Roney JR, Simmons ZL. Women's estradiol predicts preference for facial cues of men's testosterone. Horm Behav. 2008;53(1):14-9. PMID: 17950291; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.09.008
Eisner A, Burke SN, Toomey MD. Visual sensitivity across the menstrual cycle. Vis Neurosci. 2004;21(4):513-31. PMID: 15579218; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0952523804214031
Konishi K, Kumashiro M, Izumi H, Higuchi Y, Awa Y. Effects of the menstrual cycle on language and visual working memory: a pilot study. Ind Health. 2009;47(5):560-8. PMID: 19834266; https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.47.560
Penton-Voak IS, Perrett DI, Castles DL, et al. Menstrual cycle alters face preference. Nature. 1999;399(6738):741-2. PMID: 10391238; https://doi.org/10.1038/21557
Giuffrè G, Di Rosa L, Fiorino F. Changes in colour discrimination during the menstrual cycle. Ophthalmologica. 2007;221(1):47-50. PMID: 17183201; https://doi.org/10.1159/000096522
Guapo VG, Graeff FG, Zani ACT, et al. Effects of sex hormonal levels and phases of the menstrual cycle in the processing of emotional faces. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009;34(7):1087-94. PMID: 19297103; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.02.007
Sudheer C, Jagadeesan S, Kammar KF. Auditory and visual reaction times during the menstrual cycle. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 2017;7(3):297-300. https://doi.org/10.5455/njppp.2017.7.0926813112016
Apaydin KC, Akar Y, Akar ME, Zorlu GC, Ozer HO. Menstrual cycle-dependent changes in blue-on-yellow visual field analysis of young diabetic women with severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2004;32(3):265-9. PMID: 15180838; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9071.2004.00814.x
Derntl B, Windischberger C, Robinson S, et al. Facial emotion recognition and amygdala activation are associated with menstrual cycle phase. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2008;33(8):1031-40. PMID: 18675521; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.04.014
Little AC, Jones BC, Burt DM, Perrett DI. Preferences for symmetry in faces change across the menstrual cycle. Biol Psychol. 2007;76(3):209-16. PMID: 17919806; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2007.08.003
Lusk BR, Carr AR, Ranson VA, Bryant RA, Felmingham KL. Early visual processing is enhanced in the midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2015;62:343-51. PMID: 26366674; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.08.022
Lobmaier JS, Bobst C, Probst F. Can women detect cues to ovulation in other women's faces? Biol Lett. 2016;12(1):20150638. PMID: 26814224; https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2015.0638
Marcinkowska UM, Holzleitner IJ. Stability of women's facial shape throughout the menstrual cycle. Proc Biol Sci. 2020;287(1924):20192910. PMID: 32259474; https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.2910
Oberzaucher E, Katina S, Schmehl S, Holzleitner I, Grammer K. The myth of hidden ovulation: Shape and texture changes in the face during the menstrual cycle. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology. 2012;10(4):163-75. https://doi.org/10.1556/JEP.10.2012.4.1
Zhang W, Zhou R, Ye M. Menstrual cycle modulation of the late positive potential evoked by emotional faces. Percept Mot Skills. 2013;116(3):707-23. PMID: 24175446; https://doi.org/10.2466/22.27.PMS.116.3.707-723
Aleman A, Bronk E, Kessels RPC, Koppeschaar HPF, Van Honk J. A single administration of testosterone improves visuospatial ability in young women. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2004;29(5):612-7. PMID: 15041084; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4530(03)00089-1
Danilenko K, Sergeeva UY. Immediate effect of blue-enhanced light on reproductive hormones in women. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2015;36(1):84-90. PMID: 25789589.
Leek MR. Origins of Adaptive Psychophysical Procedures. Perception & Psychophysics. 2001;63(8):1279-92. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/BF03194543.pdf
Costa MF. A clínica da psicofísica. Psicol USP. 2011;22(1):15-44. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-65642011005000008
Caplan D. Experimental design and interpretation of functional neuroimaging studies of cognitive processes. Hum Brain Mapp. 2009;30(1):59-77. PMID: 17979122; https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.20489
Roberts SC, Havlicek J, Flegr J, et al. Female facial attractiveness increases during the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle. Proc Biol Sci. 2004;271Suppl 5(Suppl 5):S270-2. PMID: 15503991; https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2004.0174
