How heart rate and perception of one’s own heartbeat change throughout the menstrual cycle

We are recruiting study participants who take oral contraceptive pills.

This study aims to explore how heart rate and the perception of one’s own heartbeat change throughout the menstrual cycle and how these processes may be influenced by hormonal contraceptive use.

Procedure

• 3 appointments in total
• 1^st appointment: Overview of the study, planning of further sessions, questionnaires (approx. 1.5 hours)
• 2^nd and 3^rd appointment: EEG and ECG measurments, while working on tasks, blood sampling (approx. 3.5 hours per day)

Compensation

15€/h

Requirements

• Age between 18 and 35 years
• Female participants who use oral contraceptive pills containing both estrogens and progestins for 21 days, followed by a 7-day placebo period or pill-break (no mini-pill)
• Willingness to adhere to the hormone-free interval specified in the dosing regimen to induce withdrawal bleeding during study participation
• Continuous use of the oral contraceptive pill for at least the past 6 consecutive months
• No heavy cigarette consumption (max. 5/day), alcohol or drug abuse
• No disorders such as PMDD, endometriosis or other hormone-related diseases
• No abortion within the past year
• No history of mental illness
• No history of heart disease or diabetes

Contact

If you are interested or have any further questions, please send us a short email: mens-cycle@cbs.mpg.de

We look forward to your participation!
Principal investigator: Dr. Jellina Prinsen (Cognitive Neuroendocrinology Research Group, Department of Neurology)