Birth Control Pills Can Change the Female Brain. What Scientists Found

No More Guesswork — Scientists Conducted a Study

Many women report mood swings and irritability while using birth control pills. American researchers decided to examine exactly how this form of contraception affects mental health — and so they launched a study.

The experiment involved 26 volunteers who had previously reported low mood while taking hormonal contraceptives. Each woman took part in two phases: in the first, they used birth control pills for 18–21 days; in the second, they were given a placebo. Between phases, the women went through a natural menstrual cycle.

The participants also underwent MRI brain scans. Each day, they recorded their well-being using the Daily Record of Severity of Problems Scale. The researchers applied a special imaging technique to observe how different regions of the brain communicate and how their activity changed between study phases.

Don’t miss this: This Drug Could Delete Fear. Is It a New Cure for PTSD?

What Happens to the Brain on Birth Control?

The researchers discovered that oral contraceptives influence how different areas of the brain connect with each other — particularly three regions involved in:

• emotions,
• motor function,
• decision-making.

What is especially interesting is that the pills made the women’s brains function more similarly to one another. The individual differences observed before taking the contraceptive disappeared. The results were published in the journal Human Brain Mapping.

How Birth Control Affects Emotions

The study also revealed that participants were more likely to experience negative emotions while taking the pills. The researchers identified 13 specific neural connections strongly associated with mood decline. These involved:

• the frontal pole,
• the superior frontal gyrus,
• the posterior cingulate cortex,
• the precuneus (a structure within the brain).

All these regions play a role in processing emotions, self-reflection, and regulating internal states.

The findings suggest that the brain changes triggered by hormonal contraception may be responsible for the mood swings some women report. The networks involved affect not only how birth control pills work but also processes such as menstruation and postpartum adjustment.

Read the original article: Tabletki antykoncepcyjne zmieniają mózg kobiety. W jaki sposób?