Washington: More than 150 million women use oral contraceptives globally. The most common type is combined OCs (COCs), which are made up of synthetic hormones. It has been shown that sex hormones affect brain networks involved in fear processing. A Canadian team of researchers has now examined the effects of naturally occurring and synthetic sex on fear-related brain areas, the neural circuitry through which fear is processed in the brain, along with the current and long-term consequences of COC use. The effect of hormones has been explored.
“In our study, we show that healthy women currently using COCs had thinner ventromedial prefrontal cortex than men,” said Alexandra Brouillard, a researcher at the Université du Québec à Montréal and first author of the study published in Frontiers in Endocrinology. ” “This part of the prefrontal cortex is believed to maintain emotion regulation, such as reducing fear signals in the context of a safe situation. Our results may represent a mechanism by which COC impairs emotion regulation in women.” Can do.”
“When prescribed COCs, girls and women are informed about various physical side effects, for example, that the hormones they are taking will throw off their menstrual cycles and prevent ovulation,” Brouillard explained. However, the effects of sex hormones on brain development, which continues into early adulthood, are rarely addressed. Considering how widespread COC use is, it is important to better understand its current and long-term effects on brain anatomy and emotional regulation, the researchers said. The team recruited women who were currently using COCs; Women who had previously used COCs but had not at the time of the study; Women who have never used any type of hormonal contraception; And men.
Comparing these groups helped researchers see whether COC use was associated with current or long-term morphological changes as well as explore gender differences since it has been established that women are more likely to experience anxiety than men. And are more susceptible to experiencing stress-related disorders. “As we have reported reduced cortical thickness of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in COC users compared to men, our result suggests that COCs may provide a risk factor for emotion regulation deficits during their current use,” Brouillard said. Said.
However, researchers noted that the effects of COC use may be reversible once intake is discontinued. Given that the vmPFC effects found in current users were not seen in past users, the findings do not support lasting physiological effects of COC use. This will need to be confirmed in further studies, the researchers wrote. There is still a lot to be learned about women’s brains and how COC use affects them. For example, Brouillard and team are currently investigating the impact of age of onset and duration of use to learn more deeply about the potential lasting effects of COCs. Given that many teenage girls begin using COCs during adolescence, a sensitive period in brain development, the age of the user may also influence reversibility.
Pointing to limitations in their study, the scientists said that no causal relationship between COC use and brain morphology can be assumed and that generalization of their results to the general population may be limited. The researchers also cautioned that it is not possible at this point to draw conclusions about behavioral and psychological effects from the physical findings. “The aim of our work is not to oppose the use of COCs, but it is important to be aware of the effects the pill can have on the brain. Our aim is to increase scientific interest in women’s health and awareness of the early prescription of COCs and Brain development, a vastly unknown subject,” Brouillard concluded.
