Birth control pill can shrink parts of the brain, altering its structure and function

The birth control pill shrinks women’s brains and increases risk of Crohn’s disease

birth-control-pill image
Neuroscientists from the University of California, Los Angeles found that the two main regions of the brain controlling emotion and decision-making are thinner in women who take the pill. Image by anqa.

2015 Study Abstract

Oral contraceptive pills (OCs), which are used to prevent pregnancy by the majority of women in the United States, contain steroid hormones that may affect the brain’s structure and function. In this investigation, we tested the hypothesis that OC use is associated with differences in brain structure using a hypothesis-driven, surface-based approach. In 90 women, (44 OC users, 46 naturally-cycling women), we compared the cortical thickness of brain regions that participate in the salience network and the default mode network, as well as the volume of subcortical regions in these networks. We found that OC use was associated with significantly lower cortical thickness measurements in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex. These regions are believed to be important for responding to rewards and evaluating internal states/incoming stimuli, respectively. Further investigations are needed to determine if cortical thinning in these regions are associated with behavioral changes, and also to identify whether OC use is causally or only indirectly related to these changes in brain morphology.

Sources and more information
  • The birth control pill shrinks women’s brains and increases risk of Crohn’s disease: New studies, lifesitenews, Wed Apr 15, 2015.
  • Oral contraceptive pill use is associated with localized decreases in cortical thickness, wiley, DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22797, 2 APR 2015.

4 thoughts on “Birth control pill can shrink parts of the brain, altering its structure and function”

Have your say! Share your views