INFLUENCE OF PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME ON ATTENTIONAL CAPTURE BY EXPRESSIONS IN THE LUTEAL PHASE

Abstract

Research on female health has increased thanks to the growing interest in womens well-being. Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is characterized by its high incidence and negative emotional symptoms during the luteal phase. While various studies suggest that the menstrual cycle affects emotional processing, the role of PMS has barely been investigated. Prior evidence suggests that the menstrual cycle does not modulate the attentional capture by emotional faces (Alvarez et al., 2022). This study aims to explore PMSs impact on this phenomenon. Forty-seven women performed an attentional capture task in both phases of the menstrual cycle, with emotional faces as distractors. Both behavioral performance and Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Additionally, premenstrual symptoms were monitored over two menstrual cycles. Results showed no significant interaction effect of PMS, either at the behavioral or ERP levels. However, emotional stimuli, particularly angry faces, consistently captured attention more than neutral ones, as reflected in enhanced P1 and N170 components. These results indicate no evidence that PMS modulates exogenous attention to emotional stimuli. Future studies should consider individual affective states, such as depressive and anxiety symptoms associated with PMS, rather than PMS as a category, to further investigate the potential effects of PMS on attentional capture.