Sex Over Cycle: Sex Differences Outweigh Menstrual Cycle Effects on Human Motor Output

Females are underrepresented in research often due to concerns about potential variability introduced by the menstrual cycle. Although the cycle influences motor output, these effects are small and inconsistent, and are rarely interpreted relative to sex-related differences. This review compares sex and menstrual cycle effects on motor output, and we hypothesize sex-related differences have a substantially larger influence on motor output than the menstrual cycle.