Effect of sex steroids on cognitive functions and socioemotional behaviour

Assessing women's self-perception and cognitive and emotional abilities during the menstrual cycle

Self-esteem is an important aspect of self-concept and better self-esteem is associated with positive emotions, ability to cope with challenges, better performance at work and correlates strongly with life satisfaction. Cognitive and emotional functioning are an important part of our daily lives. It has been observed that women tend to perceive their cognitive abilities as changing over the course of the menstrual cycle, e.g. impaired memory or ability to concentrate. Emotional fluctuations, such as higher emotionality towards the end of the cycle, have also been observed, but no systematic studies have been published to our knowledge assessing the extent to which these subjective assessments coincide with objective performance on tasks. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess how self-assessment in the context of task performance is related to hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle.

Protocol aproved by the Vilnius Regional Biomedical Research Ethics Committee, No 2023/09-1536-999

Currently we are welcome native Lithuanian speakers to joint the experiment.

The relationship between sex hormones and male empathy

Empathy involves a variety of intertwined socio-emotional processes that cannot be precisely separated. Recognition of one's own and others' emotions is an integral part of empathy, while suppression of emotions can undermine emotion recognition, compassion and is associated with depression. The public perception that emotionality is an unmasculine trait has a significant impact on men's more pronounced suppression of emotions, thereby increasing the likelihood of depression and suicidal ideation. The relationship between sex hormones and male empathy has not been studied much, but an assessment of this relationship could help to better understand the influence of biological factors on this psychological phenomenon. Therefore, this study focuses on men's socioemotional processes and their relationship with sex hormones.

Protocol aproved by the Vilnius Regional Biomedical Research Ethics Committee, No 2023/09-1536-999.

The call for the study participants will be announced shortly.

Investigating the relationship between menopausal symptoms, stress and gut microbiota

In this study, we look at the link between menopausal symptoms, stress and gut microbiota. Together with PhD student Ieva Brimiene, a gynaecologist, we will conduct the study in several stages. We started with a survey inviting women aged between 45 and 55 years. The aim of the survey was to assess the symptoms of current or impending menopause, general well-being and stress.

Thank you to all who took part. We are currently analysing the results of the survey and will share them shortly.

Effects of sex and sex hormones on cognitive and socio-emotional function

The study assessed the association of sex and sex hormones with socio-emotional and cognitive functions. To achieve the aim of the study, two studies were conducted using two different psychophysiological methods: eye movement recording and electroencephalography.

Permission for the study was granted by the Vilnius Regional Biomedical Research Ethics Committee, 28 April 2020, No.2020/4˗1223˗708.

Publications are currently in preparation.

Men's mental well-being: A psychophysiological study of interactions between empathy, stress, and sex hormones

October 2023 - April 2024. Leader of the group: R. Grikšienė.

As society faces socio-cultural challenges, issues such as mental health, addiction and suicide risks, are gaining increasing attention. Although anxiety disorders and depression are diagnosed twice as often in women as in men, over ¾ of the more than 43,000 suicides in the EU each year are committed by men, and in Lithuania, male suicides are about four times more common than female suicides. Mental well-being is strongly influenced by a person's individual biological (age, gender, hormones) and socio-emotional characteristics. The common perception that emotionality is an 'unmanly' trait may have an impact on men's tendency to repress their emotions, more pronounced inability to recognise and describe their own emotions, their reluctance to communicate negative experiences, and even on their negative attitudes towards psychological support. In addition, testosterone and estrogen have been found to be associated with emotion processing and empathy, and the hormones released during stress can both improve and worsen emotion recognition and/or expression.

The results of this study may contribution to the fundamental knowledge of the interactions between the factors studied and have practical applications in the development of targeted interventions to improve men's mental well-being. Increased attention to factors related to men's emotional well-being can make a significant contribution to addressing global challenges such as discrimination, suicide, public safety and old age.

The Research Council of Lithuania, Agreement No. P-ST-23-309, 2023 10 – 2024 05

Rhythms in human body: the search for relationships between brain oscillations and fluctuations of sex hormones

“Rhythms in human body: the search for relationships between brain oscillations and fluctuations of sex hormones”, from the 1st june 2023 to the 15th december, 2023.

Main activities:

1. June 2, 2023. Project start meeting, will be organized at Vilnius University, Life Sciences Center and online.
   
2. June 2 - July 3, 2023. Final steps of the study, analysis of behavioral data, assessment of sex hormones in collected samples. Online training „EEG preprocessing and frequency analysis“.
   
3. July 4 – 25, 2023 PhD and Master students visits at University of Münster to learn proposed EEG data analysis methods.
4. September 20-22, 2023. Workshop “EEG analysis” will be organized at Vilnius University.

Workshop “EEG data analysis” 

20-22 September, 2023

Vilnius University, Life Sciences Center, Sauletekio ave. 7

This project of the Baltic-German University Liaison Office is supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic Germany.

More information about the project: http://www.hochschulkontor.lv/en/projekti/atbalstitie-projekti/rhythms-in-human-body-the-search-for-relationships-between-brain-oscillations-and-fluctuations-of-sex-hormones/

Lateralization of cerebral hemispheres in foreign language and working memory processing

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The processing of highly salient and biologically relevant emotional stimuli: gender differences and relationship to sex steroids

"The processing of highly salient and biologically relevant emotional stimuli: gender differences and relationship to sex steroids", from the 1st June 2020 to the 01th November, 2020

In collaboration with colleagues from Tübingen (Germany) and Tartu (Estonia) Universities our group is implementing a project which the main goal is knowledge sharing and collaboration in the area of emotion research and psychoneuroendocrinology between the project partners. Hence, emotion perception and regulation research will take place at the Vilnius University; we will organize project partners’ meetings, emotion research workshops and results presenatation in various conferences including one organized by the Lithuanian Neurocscience Association.

All partners will collaborate to design and conduct a reseach to evaluate how men and women recognize and regulate emotions. For this purpose both subjective and objective (brain imaging) methods will be used. Knowing that sex steroid balance has a signficant effect on emotions, women who use hormonal contraceptives will be one of the focus points.

Collaboration between partners will be maintained both through live meetings and remote work. First results and existing knowledge on the topic will be presented during two events in November 2020 – workshop “Emotion perception and regulation” and the 12th Conference of the Lithuanian Neuroscience Association. 

More information about the project:  http://www.hochschulkontor.lv/en/projekti/atbalstitie-projekti/the-processing-of-highly-salient-and-biologically-relevant-emotional-stimuli-gender-differences-and-relationship-to-sex-steroids/

UPCOMING EVENTS

5^th November, 11 am - 3 pm.

WEBINAR From emotion perception to regulation: workshop on socio-emotional functions.

WHERE. Online (link will be sent to registered e-mail) or in Life science center, Vilnius University, Sauletekio ave. 7, R102. More information abouth this event here.

REGISTRATION to Webinar and/or Public event: https://bit.ly/2GC9mkM

EVENTS

22 – 23 June 2020. Project start meeting, was organized in Vilnius University, Life Sciences Center and online.