DISTURBED BEHAVIORAL ADAPTABILITY AS RELATED TO REPRODUCTIVE HORMONESAND EMOTIONAL STATES DURING THE MENSTRUAL-CYCLE

The relationship between the incapacity to adapt behaviour to external requirements and biological irregularities of the menstrual cycle was investigated in 30 healthy females divided according to a questionnai re on behavioural adaptability into good (GAs) and bad (BAs) adaptors. Emotional states and blood samples for determination of hormones were obtained on ten defined clays of the menstrual cycle, which were indi vidually synchronized to six phases according to biological indicators . Comparison of GAs and BAs revealed that the incapacity of behavioura l adaptation is associated with higher neuroticism related traits and states and that BAs exhibited higher cortisol and testosterone levels, lower luteal and follicular levels of estrogen, and lower luteal leve ls of progesterone. Furthermore, significantly more BA subjects suffer ed from corpus luteum deficiency. Results are discussed with respect t o chronobiological biobehavioural mechanisms. (C) 1998 John Wiley & So ns, Ltd.