Learning exceptions to category rules varies across the menstrual cycle
Mateja Perović, Emily M Heffernan, Gillian Einstein, Michael L Mack · 2023
Read Learning exceptions to category rules varies across the menstrual cycle by Mateja Perović, Emily M Heffernan, Gillian Einstein, Michael L Mack (2023) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-10713535.txt.
Description
Mateja Perović and co-authors show that learning the exceptions to a rule shifts across the menstrual cycle. Their 2023 study tests 171 people on a category task where most items follow a rule but a few break it. Ovarian hormones are known to affect the brain, yet their role in such learning was underexplored.
Participants in the high-estradiol phase learned exceptions faster and better than those in the low phase. They also outpaced a male comparison group on exception learning. The authors link the effect to estradiol's action on pattern separation and completion in the hippocampus. They argue that cognitive neuroscience should routinely account for cycle phase and sex-related variables.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Mateja Perović, Emily M Heffernan, Gillian Einstein, Michael L Mack |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2023 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 31 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |