Sex-sensitive tasks in men and women: A search for performance fluctuations across the menstrual cycle

This study validated 6 cognitive and motor-skill tasks as sex-sensitive and used them to investigate whether women's performance changed across the me nstrual cycle. Three putative female-advantage tasks and 3 putative male-ad vantage tasks were administered twice, at 6-week intervals, to young colleg e women and men. Counterbalanced for order, women received the tests once d uring menstruation and once during the midluteal phase. The midluteal phase was determined by projection from day of ovulation, as verified by ovulati on detection kits, and by confirmation of subsequent menstruation. Results revealed a significant sex difference for 5 of the 6 tasks. However, there was no evidence that performances differed with menstrual cycle phase. Thes e results from younger women, combined with previous results from older wom en, may help establish the boundaries for hormonal influences on cognitive and motor-skill behavior.