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Menstrual synchrony, also called the McClintock effect, [1] or the Wellesley effect, [2] is a contested process whereby women who begin living together in close proximity would experience their menstrual cycle onsets (the onset of menstruation or menses) becoming more synchronized together in time than when previously living apart. "For example ...
Martha Kent McClintock (born February 22, 1947) [1] is an American psychologist best known for her research on human pheromones and her theory of menstrual synchrony. Her research focuses on the relationship that the environment and biology have upon sexual behaviour. [2]
Reproductive synchrony is a term used in evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology. Reproductive synchrony—sometimes termed "ovulatory synchrony"—may manifest itself as "breeding seasonality". Where females undergo regular menstruation, "menstrual synchrony" is another possible term. Figure a. Females competing for good genes should avoid ...
Diagram illustrating how the uterus lining builds up and breaks down during the menstrual cycle Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of hormones. Menstruation is triggered by falling progesterone ...
Menstrual synchrony is an alleged process whereby women who begin living together in close proximity experience their menstrual cycle onsets (the onset of menstruation or menses) becoming more synchronized together in time than when previously living apart. [160] [161] A 2013 review concluded that menstrual synchrony likely does not exist. [162]
Menstrual synchrony has long been viewed as a physiological phenomenon in humans that could only be explained by the exchange of pheromones among women. He argues, however, that methodological critiques of menstrual cycle research and recent research indicate the menstrual synchrony does not occur among women.
Examples include circannual or annual cycles that govern migration or reproduction cycles in many plants and animals, or the human menstrual cycle. Ultradian rhythms , which are cycles shorter than 24 hours, such as the 90-minute REM cycle , the 4-hour nasal cycle , or the 3-hour cycle of growth hormone production.
[15] [16] Synchrony in general is for primates an important variable determining the extent of 'paternity skew'—defined as the extent to which fertile matings can be monopolised by a fraction of the population of males. The greater the precision of female reproductive synchrony—the greater the number of ovulating females who must be guarded ...