Menstrual cycle phases, sex hormones and hand preference modulate nerve conduction velocity in healthy subjects
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The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between hand preference and electrophysiological parameters in women menstrual cycle phases and men. Our study was conducted on 25 healthy, naturally cycling females and 30 healthy males between the ages of 18 and 25 who participated voluntarily. The female participants completed three test sessions (early follicular phase, the late follicular phase, and the luteal phase). We measured sex hormone concentrations in blood samples collected. Nerve conduction velocity was calculated using electromyography by stimulating the median nerves of the left and right hands of both the male and female participants. The median nerve conduction velocities of the dominant hands of both the males and females were higher than those of the non-dominant hands. The median nerve conduction velocity during the follicular phase of both the right-handed and left-handed females was higher than in the right-handed and left-handed males, while the latency was shorter. When we evaluated the nerve conduction velocities of the participants, we observed the effects of sexual dimorphism and lateralization. The findings suggested that nerve conduction velocity was found to be affected during the phases of the menstrual cycle in healthy female volunteers.