Disaggregating between- and within- person effects of ovarian hormones on the association between worry and error-related brain activity in a female sample
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital
- 2Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic
- 3Department of Psychology, Miami University
- 4Department of Psychology, Michigan State University
- 5Department of Psychology, The University of Toledo
Abstract
Worry is associated with increased error monitoring in female populations, indexed by a larger error-related negativity (ERN). Although estradiol and progesterone influence anxiety and neural regions involved in error monitoring, little research has examined their role in the association between worry and the ERN. The current study examined how between- and within-person differences in gonadal hormones across the menstrual cycle moderate the association between worry and the ERN in a female sample. Participants (N = 132) provided saliva samples and completed the Penn State Worry Questionnaire daily across a full menstrual cycle. Participants attended up to four in-person laboratory visits during which they completed the Flanker task while concurrent electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. A significant interaction between estradiol and worry emerged (p = .006), such that worry was associated with an enlarged ERN for those with lower estradiol levels. There was also a significant interaction between progesterone and worry in the opposite direction (p < .001). Higher average worry was associated with an enlarged ERN for those with high average progesterone. No significant effects emerged for within-person changes in worry, estradiol and progesterone on the ERN. Our findings highlight the critical need to understand the association between worry and the ERN within a larger neurocognitive framework to elucidate when and for whom worry’s effects are more impairing.
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BibTeX
@article{louis2026disaggregating,
title = {{Disaggregating between- and within- person effects of ovarian hormones on the association between worry and error-related brain activity in a female sample}},
author = {Courtney C. Louis and Lilianne M. Gloe and Darwin A. Guevarra and Kelly L. Klump and Teona Velehorschi and Ashley Hayden and Jason S. Moser},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-63308-2},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63308-2},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Disaggregating between- and within- person effects of ovarian hormones on the association between worry and error-related brain activity in a female sample
AU - Courtney C. Louis
AU - Lilianne M. Gloe
AU - Darwin A. Guevarra
AU - Kelly L. Klump
AU - Teona Velehorschi
AU - Ashley Hayden
AU - Jason S. Moser
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-63308-2
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63308-2
AB - Worry is associated with increased error monitoring in female populations, indexed by a larger error-related negativity (ERN). Although estradiol and progesterone influence anxiety and neural regions involved in error monitoring, little research has examined their role in the association between worry and the ERN. The current study examined how between- and within-person differences in gonadal hormones across the menstrual cycle moderate the association between worry and the ERN in a female sample. Participants (N = 132) provided saliva samples and completed the Penn State Worry Questionnaire daily across a full menstrual cycle. Participants attended up to four in-person laboratory visits during which they completed the Flanker task while concurrent electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. A significant interaction between estradiol and worry emerged (p = .006), such that worry was associated with an enlarged ERN for those with lower estradiol levels. There was also a significant interaction between progesterone and worry in the opposite direction (p < .001). Higher average worry was associated with an enlarged ERN for those with high average progesterone. No significant effects emerged for within-person changes in worry, estradiol and progesterone on the ERN. Our findings highlight the critical need to understand the association between worry and the ERN within a larger neurocognitive framework to elucidate when and for whom worry’s effects are more impairing.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -