Women in Neuroergonomics: Sex-Based Differences and the Working Brain

This Research Topic is developed in connection with The Midlife Brain Symposium (Institute FLE, October 2026), a two-day meeting on perimenopause, menopause, brain health and work, and welcomes contributions from its participants alongside the wider research community.Neuroergonomics measures the brain and body at work, yet its evidence base rests on samples, models and hardware that rarely account for biological sex. Women make up close to half of the global workforce and are concentrated in occupations with heavy sustained-attention and emotional demands, including healthcare and education, where neuroergonomic evidence remains thin. Female physiology is also not static across a working life. Results are still commonly reported without disaggregation, so we cannot say whether established markers of cognitive workload, fatigue and recovery hold equally for women, or whether the design recommendations derived from them transfer.Every stage of a woman’s working life carries its own neuroergonomic questions. In early and mid-career, the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraception modulate sleep, thermoregulation, pain, mood and aspects of attention and working memory, with consequences for shift tolerance and sustained performance that are rarely quantified in the field. Pregnancy brings changes in sleep, fatigue and cognition alongside physical constraints on posture, reach and equipment fit, and the postpartum return to work combines broken sleep with full performance expectations. Cognitive concerns are among the most commonly reported experiences of the menopause transition, and they arrive for many women at the peak of their careers. Brain fog, disrupted sleep, fatigue and difficulty concentrating are well described clinically, but we know far less about how they present in real workplaces, how they interact with workload, shift work and high-stakes decision-making, and which task designs, schedules and accommodations genuinely help. In later career, cognitive ageing, hormone status and long-term brain health shape safety, retention and progression in demanding roles.Accurate and consistent measurement remains a persistent challenge, as EEG caps and fNIRS optode arrays are typically fitted and validated on head sizes and hair types that exclude many women, and thick, coarse or protective hairstyles remain a recognised source of signal loss. Optical and photoplethysmographic sensors also perform unevenly across skin tones. Beyond this, normative databases for workload and fatigue indices seldom report sex-stratified values, cycle phase and menopausal status are rarely recorded as covariates, and the anthropometrics of tools, cabs, cockpits and protective equipment are often derived from male reference bodies.This Research Topic brings together research that treats sex as a variable of interest in neuroergonomics, from mechanism to measurement to workplace practice, across the full arc of a working life. We welcome empirical studies, methodological and validation work, datasets, protocols and critical reviews, with a preference for field studies and ecologically valid simulations. Longitudinal and within-person designs that track change across hormonal states or life stages are particularly encouraged, as are papers that connect neurophysiological markers to performance, safety, and wellbeing outcomes. Studies reporting null or heterogeneous sex effects are equally welcome; the aim is to obtain a more accurate picture of the working brain.Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:• Sex-based differences in cognitive workload, attention, fatigue and mental effort during real or simulated work• Menstrual cycle phase, hormonal contraception and neuroergonomic performance, including shift tolerance and sustained attention• Pregnancy, the postpartum period and return to work: cognition, fatigue, and workstation and equipment fit• Cognitive changes across the perimenopause and menopause transition, measured in workplace settings• Menopause, sleep disruption, circadian disturbance and next-day cognitive performance at work• Cognitive ageing, hormone status and long-term brain health in later career• Inclusive instrumentation: EEG, fNIRS and wearable sensing across head shapes, hair types and skin tones• Sex-stratified normative data, benchmarks and reporting standards for workload and fatigue indices• Thermal comfort, workstation and equipment design, and their cognitive and physiological effects on women• Stress, burnout and recovery, including sex-specific neural and autonomic signatures• Adaptive systems, task design and workplace accommodations informed by women’s cognitive and physiological stateDr. Ryan McKendrick is currently employed by Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation. The other Topic Editors declare no conflicts of interest. Topic editors: Ryan McKendrick, Anne-Marie Brouwer Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86463/women-in-neuroergonomics-sex-based-differences-and-the-working-brain