Episode 15 – Sex and the Brain Part 3

We are Neuro-scientists casually talking science for non-scientist and scientist alike. We continue our series on Sex and the Brain. In this episode we delve into “the Pill” i.e. oral contraceptives, their history, role in reproduction and effects if any on the brain.

Sources:

  • Beltz AM, Hampson E, Berenbaum SA. 2015. Oral contraceptives and cognition: A role for ethinyl estradiol. Horm Behav 74: 209-17
  • Calhoun AH, Batur P. 2017. Combined hormonal contraceptives and migraine: An update on the evidence. Cleveland Clinic journal of medicine 84: 631-38
  • Eig, J. (2014). The Birth of the Pill, How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution. New York, New York: W. W. Norton and Company.
  • Gingnell M, Engman J, Frick A, Moby L, Wikstrom J, et al. 2013. Oral contraceptive use changes brain activity and mood in women with previous negative affect on the pill–a double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized trial of a levonorgestrel-containing combined oral contraceptive. Psychoneuroendocrinology 38: 1133-44
  • Hamstra DA, de Kloet ER, de Rover M, Van der Does W. 2017. Oral contraceptives positively affect mood in healthy PMS-free women: A longitudinal study. Journal of psychosomatic research 103: 119-26
  • Kulkarni J. 2007. Depression as a side effect of the contraceptive pill. Expert opinion on drug safety 6: 371-4
  • Lebrun CM. 1994. The effect of the phase of the menstrual cycle and the birth control pill on athletic performance. Clinics in sports medicine 13: 419-41
  • Lisofsky N, Riediger M, Gallinat J, Lindenberger U, Kuhn S. 2016. Hormonal contraceptive use is associated with neural and affective changes in healthy young women. NeuroImage 134: 597-606
  • Montoya ER, Bos PA. 2017. How Oral Contraceptives Impact Social-Emotional Behavior and Brain Function. Trends in cognitive sciences 21: 125-36
  • Petersen N, Cahill L. 2015. Amygdala reactivity to negative stimuli is influenced by oral contraceptive use. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience 10: 1266-72
  • Pletzer B, Harris T, Hidalgo-Lopez E. 2019. Previous contraceptive treatment relates to grey matter volumes in the hippocampus and basal ganglia. Scientific reports 9: 11003
  • Pletzer B, Kronbichler M, Aichhorn M, Bergmann J, Ladurner G, Kerschbaum HH. 2010. Menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive use modulate human brain structure. Brain Res 1348: 55-62
  • Pletzer BA, Kerschbaum HH. 2014. 50 years of hormonal contraception-time to find out, what it does to our brain. Frontiers in neuroscience 8: 256
  • Skovlund CW, Morch LS, Kessing LV, Lidegaard O. 2016. Association of Hormonal Contraception With Depression. JAMA psychiatry 73: 1154-62
  • Svendal G, Berk M, Pasco JA, Jacka FN, Lund A, Williams LJ. 2012. The use of hormonal contraceptive agents and mood disorders in women. Journal of affective disorders 140: 92-6

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