The search for the relationship between female hormonal status, alpha oscillations, and aperiodic features of resting state EEG.

Fluctuations in sex steroid levels during the menstrual cycle and the use of hormonal contraceptives have been linked to changes in cognitive function and emotions in females. Such variations may be mediated by overall brain activity and excitability. We aimed to investigate the impact of female hormonal status on resting state EEG (rsEEG) parameters, including periodic (individual alpha frequency, alpha power) and aperiodic (1/f slope) features. rsEEG was recorded in healthy females (mean age 26.4 ± 4.6 years), who were naturally cycling in the early follicular (n = 33) or mid-luteal phases (n = 35), or who used either oral contraceptives (n = 35) or hormonal intrauterine devices (n = 28). Salivary concentrations of estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone were measured. Contrary to previous findings, this study did not reveal significant differences in rsEEG parameters between groups or significant relationships with hormonal levels. Age emerged as a covariate negatively related to the median 1/f slope. Based on these findings, we found no significant evidence to suggest that the periodic (alpha power and peak frequency) or aperiodic activity patterns in the brain during the resting state differ between the groups of females under investigation.

The levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device is related to early emotional reactivity: An ERP study.

Despite the evidence of altered emotion processing in oral contraceptive (OC) users, the impact of hormonal intrauterine devices (IUD) on emotional processing remains unexplored. Our study aimed to investigate how behavioural performance and event-related potentials (ERPs) linked with emotion reactivity and its regulation are associated with hormonal profiles of women using different types of hormonal contraception and naturally cycling women. Women using OCs (n = 25), hormonal IUDs (n = 33), and naturally cycling women in their early follicular (NCF, n = 33) or mid-luteal (NCL, n = 28) phase of the menstrual cycle were instructed to view emotional pictures (neutral, low and high negativity) and use cognitive reappraisal to up- or down-regulate negative emotions, while their electroencephalogram was recorded. Participants rated perceived negativity after each picture and their emotional arousal throughout the task. Saliva samples were collected to assess levels of 17ß-estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone. As expected, emotional arousal increased throughout the task and correlated positively with perceived negativity. Perceived negativity and the amplitudes of the middle (N2/P3) and later (LPP) latency ERP components increased with increasing stimuli negativity. Emotion regulation modulated perceived negativity and the amplitudes of very late ERP components (parietal and frontal LPP). Moreover, IUD-users showed a higher negative amplitude of the frontal N2 in comparison to all three other groups, with the most consistent differences during up-regulation. Finally, testosterone correlated positively with the N2 peak in IUD-users and NCL women. Overall, our findings suggest that IUD-use and testosterone might be related to altered preconscious processing during the emotion regulation task requiring attention to the stimulus. The study underscores the need for additional research into how different hormonal contraceptives are linked to socio-emotional functioning.