Dynamic changes in functional cerebral connectivity of spatial cognition during the menstrual cycle

Abstract

Functional cerebral asymmetries (FCAs) in women have been shown to vary with changing levels of sex hormones during the menstrual cycle. Previous studies have suggested that interhemispheric interaction forms a key component in generating FCAs and it has been shown behaviorally and by functional imaging that interhemispheric interaction changes during the menstrual cycle, at least for a left hemisphere dominant task. We used functional MRI and an analysis of functional connectivity to examine whether changes in right hemisphere advantage for a figure comparison task as found in behavioral studies, are based on comparable mechanisms like those identified for the verbal task. Women were examined three times during the menstrual cycle, during the menstrual, follicular and luteal phases. The behavioral data confirmed the right hemisphere advantage for the figure comparison task as well as changes of the right hemisphere advantage during the menstrual cycle. Imaging data showed cycle phase-related changes in lateralized brain activation within the task-dominant hemisphere and changes in connectivity between nonhomotopic areas of both hemispheres, suggesting that changes in functional brain organization in women during the menstrual cycle are not only restricted to hormone-related changes of interhemispheric inhibition between homotopic areas, as has been proposed earlier, but might additionally apply to changes of neuronal processes within the hemispheres which seem to be modulated by heterotopic functional connectivity between hemispheres.

Hippocampal volume and functional connectivity changes during the female menstrual cycle

“…Estrogen effects on functional brain organization have been previously demonstrated in studies on interhemispheric inhibition (Weis et al, 2008(Weis et al, , 2011. In the present study, the connectivity between the hippocampus and the superior parietal lobe was significantly strengthened during the LFP.…”

Sex hormones affect language lateralisation but not cognitive control in normally cycling women

“…&%! provided evidence that estradiol may also modulate interhemispheric interaction and, in turn, lateralisation (Hausmann et al, 2013, Weis et al, 2008Weis et al, 2011;Hausmann et al, 2006;Holländer et al, 2005). In line with this hypothesis, the reduced REA found in the non- Further analysis of the absolute LQs indicated that the reduction in the DL bias was mainly underpinned by estradiol.…”

“…To determine the stability of the laterality bias, some studies repeatedly tested male or postmenopausal female controls at comparable time points (e.g. Hausmann and Güntürkün, 2000;Hjelmervik et al, 2012;Hjelmervik et al, 2014;Bayer et al, 2008;Weis et al, 2011) because their hormone levels are relatively stable. However, it has been argued that these procedures may not completely rule out carry-over effects (Hausmann and Güntürkün, 1999).…”

Funktionelle Magnetresonanztomographie bei Trans*Menschen

“…Bei Frauen sind bestimmte Fähigkeiten abhängig von der Zyklusphase. In mentalen Rotationstests, bei der Sprache und beim räumlichen Vorstellungsvermögen zeigte sich eine zyklusabhängige zerebrale Aktivierung und Lateralisierung [33,45]. Das räumliche Vorstellungsvermögen ist in Zyklusphasen mit höheren Testosteron-und niedrigeren Östrogenspiegeln höher [14].…”