Summary: New research finds that fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone across the menstrual cycle can alter the memory systems women use, influencing verbal recall and spatial navigation strategies.
Source: Concordia University
Spatial navigation and memory vary across the menstrual cycle
Many people have observed that women sometimes describe shifts in memory and problem-solving ability at different points in their menstrual cycle. New research from Concordia University, published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, provides evidence that these changes may be driven by normal hormonal fluctuations—specifically estrogen and progesterone—which appear to bias the brain toward different memory systems and strategies rather than simply improving or impairing memory overall.
How hormones shape problem-solving strategies
The study tested 45 naturally cycling women who provided detailed menstrual and reproductive histories via a hormonal profile questionnaire that included information on cycle timing, past pregnancies, contraceptive use, and lifestyle factors. Participants completed two main tasks: a verbal memory exercise (for example, remembering a list of words) and a virtual navigation task that could be solved using different strategies (such as relying on spatial cues versus following a learned sequence of turns).
After completing the tasks, participants described the strategies they used from start to finish, allowing researchers to link performance and strategy selection to menstrual phase. Blood samples were also used to measure serum hormone levels (estradiol, progesterone, testosterone) to confirm each participant’s cycle phase.
Clear differences by cycle phase
Results showed a distinct pattern: women tested during the ovulatory phase—when estradiol (E2) levels are relatively high—performed better on the verbal memory task. In contrast, women tested in the mid/late luteal (pre-menstrual) phase—when progesterone is elevated—were more likely to use spatial strategies and performed better on the virtual navigation task. Those in the early follicular phase, when estradiol is low, tended to favor response-based strategies similar to the pattern seen in some animal studies.
Rather than indicating a global improvement or decline in cognitive ability, these findings suggest that hormone fluctuations shift the brain’s reliance between different memory systems, such as hippocampal-dependent spatial memory versus striatal-mediated response strategies.
Scientific context and implications
Psychology professor Wayne Brake, a co-author of the study, notes that rodent research has already shown hormones can bias the use of different memory systems. High estradiol in female rats tends to promote hippocampal-dependent spatial strategies, whereas low estradiol favors striatal response strategies. This Concordia study is among the first to demonstrate a comparable pattern in women performing human cognition tasks, linking natural hormonal variation to strategy selection in problem solving.
The findings carry several important implications. They highlight that cognitive performance is not fixed and can vary in systematic ways across the menstrual cycle. This variation may affect everyday tasks—such as giving directions, learning new routes, or recalling verbal information—and suggests researchers and clinicians should consider menstrual phase when designing studies or interpreting cognitive assessments.
Calls for more female-focused research
Dema Hussain, the study’s lead author and a recent PhD graduate, emphasizes that historical research bias toward male participants has limited understanding of female-specific cognitive dynamics. Because women’s brains respond differently to hormonal environments, results derived from male-only samples may not generalize. Hussain argues for more research aimed at understanding how female sex hormones influence cognition so clinical treatments and cognitive research can be better tailored to women.
Abstract (summary)
This cross-sectional study investigated how phase of the menstrual cycle modulates navigational strategies and verbal memory in young, healthy women. Participants were classified into early follicular (low estradiol), ovulatory (high estradiol), or mid/late luteal (rising progesterone) groups using self-reported cycle dates and confirmed by serum hormone measures. A verbal memory task and a virtual navigation task—solvable by either spatial or response strategies—were administered. Women in the ovulatory phase showed improved verbal memory, while women in the mid/late luteal phase predominantly used spatial strategies on the navigation task. The data suggest that both estradiol and progesterone contribute to which memory system is engaged during task solving, supporting the idea that hormonal state biases cognitive strategy rather than uniformly enhancing or impairing memory.
Research source: Concordia University. Original research published in Psychoneuroendocrinology.