Effects of hormonal changes in temporal perception, speech perception in noise and auditory working memory in females

Abstract

Background The menstrual cycle is a cyclic fluctuation of ovarian hormonal level in every female. Previous electrophysiological, psychoacoustic, neurobiological and cognitive neuroscience studies have focused on the fluctuating level of gonadal steroids (oestradiol and progesterone) affecting peripheral auditory system and cognitive function. These changes can alter central auditory processing abilities and auditory working memory capacity during the menstrual cycle. In the present study the effect of hormonal changes in temporal processing, speech perception in noise and working memory is assessed in females. Study design A time-series design was used. A total of 10 female participants in the age range of 18–25 years, with an average 28 days regular menstrual cycle, were included in this study. Auditory temporal processing abilities were assessed using gap detection, modulation detection and a duration discrimination test; speech perception in noise was assessed through the Quick-SIN test in Kannada and auditory working memory was assessed using a forward and backward digit span test. All participants were tested twice during a single menstrual cycle, i.e. menstrual phase, and ovulation. A paired sample t-test was used to estimate the significance of differences. Results The results showed significant differences for all the tests across the two phases of the menstrual cycle; the ovulation phase had better thresholds compared to that of the menstrual phase for all tests. Conclusion These findings suggest that higher oestrogen level fine tunes central auditory processing and improves psychoacoustic capabilities to resolve temporal waveform, which is important for speech perception.