Browsing by Subject "Cognition disorders -- Effect of contraceptives on"

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    Progesterone influences on fluctuations in cognitive asymmetry and interhemispheric communication across the menstrual cycle: comparison of naturally cycling women and oral contraceptive users.
    (2002) Diepold, Julia A.; Compton, Rebecca J. (Rebecca Jean); Perloe, Sidney
    This study examines how progesterone modifies functional cerebral asymmetries across the menstrual cycle in college age women, in comparison with peers taking the oral contraceptive OrthoTri-cyclen. A typical left hemisphere task (lexical decision), a typical right hemisphere task (figural comparison) and an interhemispheric communication task were each performed during the menstrual and luteal phases and corresponding times of the oral contraceptive users' cycles. This study was based on a previous study and the proposed hypothesis of progesterone mediated interhemispheric decoupling (Hausmann and Gunturkun, 2000). According to this hypothesis, high levels of progesterone decrease asymmetry because progesterone inhibits the interhemispheric cross talk that allows one hemisphere to take over a task. In conflict with previous findings, this study's results point towards increasing asymmetry as progesterone levels rise for naturally cycling women, but offers some support for previous findings of increased left hemisphere advantage in the luteal phase. Significant differences between oral contraceptive users and naturally cycling women indicate that oral contraceptive users have better right hemisphere performance relative to right that of naturally cycling women. Collectively, findings provide evidence to support hormonal influences on cognitive asymmetry.