woman who use birth control pills have a significantly smaller hypothalamus volume , a region of the brain associated with wrath and depression , than those who do not take oral antifertility pills ( OCPs ) , according to preliminary findings presented at the Radiological Society of North America ( RSNA ) .
Thehypothalamusis a modest brain social organisation located just above the pituitary secretory organ that ’s responsible for the production of hormones and the regulation of essential corporal functions , such as mood , appetite , libido , sleep , and body temperature . old studieshave suggested that dysregulation of the hypothalamus in conjunction with other parting of the mentality has been linked to slump . Otherresearchhas indicated that its input may actuate hostility , wrath , or revere .
For the current study , researchers acquired mellow - resolution MRI scans of 50 healthy women – admittedly a small sample distribution sizing – 21 of whom were take unwritten contraceptives at the time of mental imagery . A “ dramatic departure ” in the size of certain brain bodily structure was observed between those who were and were not taking oral contraceptive equipment . field author Dr Michael Lipton , a prof at Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and medical director of MRI Services at Montefiore Medical Center , recite IFLScience it is possible there are other geomorphologic changes in the psyche from unwritten contraceptives .
" Sex hormone have bang ( from animal field of study ) trophic effect on the fundamental nervous system . Some results on mastermind anatomical structure have been describe , but none on the hypothalamus , which has a central role in the regulation of replication and endocrine function in general , " he said .
Though the study is not yet publish in a peer - reviewed journal , the authors note that characterise the effects of unwritten preventive on the hypothalamus provide a “ bridge to understanding functional alterations ” associated with their use . Even so , determining how sexual practice internal secretion like contraceptive pills affect the social organization of the brain has not been report previously , potentially because of an inability to analyze MRI scan in such a mode , they noted . However , Lipton is ready to add caution to the study ’s finding .
" It is important to keep in brain that this study is just the first hint at an burden of OCPs on the hypothalamus . It is untimely to extrapolate to a verbatim causative role of OCPs and certainly any causal link to specific physiologic or behavioral effects , " he order . " Those dubiousness must be addressed in a magnanimous prospective report that is specifically designed to call those specific questions . "
OCP users should not be concerned free-base on the findings , he added . As with any hormonal drug , OCPs entail real hazard that are determined by millions of women to be outweighed by the benefit , and it willtake more researchto reproduce and understand the clinical implications of the effect , if any .
unwritten birth control equipment are one of the most common forms of nascence ascendence and can be used totreat other conditions , admit irregular period , acne , polycystic ovary syndrome , endometriosis , and premenstrual dysphoric disorder ( PMDD ) . Between 2015 and 2016 , nearly two - thirds of women in the United States were using some form of parturition mastery , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) . Among US women between the ages of 15 and 44 , almost16 percentreported taking some human body of an unwritten contraceptive birth control pill .
