Birth Control May Alter The Structure Of A Woman's Brain

[Suzanimal]

I took birth control pill for a couple of months and was a wreck. I cried about everything. I gave them up when it dawned on me I was crying about laundry.:o

Birth control pills have some troubling possible side effects, including altering a woman's mood and even her choice of romantic partner. A new study adds another potential concern to the list: Hormonal contraception may shrink portions of the brain and affect their function.

It's possible that the synthetic hormones found in the Pill -- and possibly the suppression of natural hormones that occurs when women are using the Pill -- cause these alterations in brain structure and function, according to a new study published in the journal Human Brain Mapping.

In a study conducted on 90 women, neuroscientists at UCLA found that two key brain regions, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the posterior cigulate cortex, were thinner in women who used oral contraception than in women who did not.

The lateral orbitofrontal cortex plays an important role in emotion regulation and responding to rewards, while the posterior cigulate cortex is involved with inward-directed thought, and shows increased activity when we recall personal memories and plan for the future.

Changes in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex could be responsible for the increased anxiety and depressive symptoms that some women experience when they start taking the Pill.

"Some women experience negative emotional side effects from taking oral contraceptive pills, although the scientific findings investigating that have been mixed," Nicole Petersen, a neuroscientist at UCLA and the study's lead author, told The Huffington Post. "So it's possible that this change in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex may be related to the emotional changes that some women experience when using birth control pills."

Scientists have not yet determined if these neurological changes are permanent, or if they only last while a woman is on the Pill.

"We need to do more studies to find out what behaviors might be changed, but this study gives us some targets to start with, and I think the first place to look is at the effect of birth control pills on regulating emotions," Petersen said.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/...ain_n_7032578.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

 

[newbitech]

not surprised. any drugs and most nutritious foods alter our brains. Its good to have studies like this so that discerning women may consider alternatives. I just hope that the broader context, rx drug use in general and in particular psych drugs that target chemicals in the body, get more attention. Not that I think people will care given the propaganda encouraging usage that extol the benefits while blithely dismissing the serious effects. But, our culture literally eats that shit up.

 

[RJB]

Three other issues with the pill. It causes:

Irritability.

Weight gain.

and Loss of libido.

So what's the point of it?

 

[donnay]

Synthetic hormones are nasty.

Real Contraceptive Choices: Alternatives to Risky Hormone Pills, Patches and Shots

 

[Danke]

Just what women need, another excuse for their behavior.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Just what women need, another excuse for their behavior.

+rep lulz

 

[presence]

In every experience I've had:

Birth control pill = Wacko, cry over nothing, pity me drama, man can do no right; "you did this to me"

Call me sexist but I generally don't take women seriously that are on the pill; its at par with LSD in terms of mind alteration.

Same goes for the paxil / zoloft crowd. Wacko crazy bitches. Stay away.

 

[Acala]

There really isn't a decent form of birth control. Not so easy to thwart millions of years of evolution aimed at reproduction. Unless, of course, you are TRYING to conceive.

 

[specsaregood]

/.

 

[Suzanimal]

There really isn't a decent form of birth control. Not so easy to thwart millions of years of evolution aimed at reproduction. Unless, of course, you are TRYING to conceive.

 

[Acala]

 

[CaptUSA]

Three other issues with the pill. It causes:

Irritability.

Weight gain.

and Loss of libido.

So what's the point of it?

Um, really?

To prevent the irritability, weight gain and loss of libido that comes with this:

 

[Working Poor]

I used a diaphragm and also paid a lot of attention to my ovulation cycle. I tried the pill many years ago and had to get off of it after about 2 months.