Studies Show Birth Control Linked to Memory Changes in Women

10-year studies on sex differences have found that women taking birth control are more likely to suffer from memory changes.

Studies at the University of California have found that women who use contraceptives are more likely to suffer from memory changes in comparison with women who do not take any form of birth control.

Graduate researcher Shawn Nielsen has worked alongside neurobiologist Larry Cahill to prove that it is not a “deficit” but merely a change in the type of information they remember.

“The study does not show that women on hormonal contraception have memory impairment,” Mr Nielsen told The Fresh Outlook. “Rather, the findings demonstrate that information recalled from an emotional event is altered by the use of hormonal contraception.

Neurobiologist Larry Cahill has been working on studies on sex differences for 10 years, and this new research has not surprised him as he believes it is a “natural outgrowth”.

The studies tested groups of women who were taking either taking oral contraceptives or experiencing natural hormone cycles by showing them photographs of a mother, son and a car accident. They were also given differing audio narratives; some in each group were told that the car had critically injured the boy whilst others were told that the car had hit the curb.

When tested a week later, it was found that women taking contraceptives remembered the main steps of the event, such as the boy had been hit by the car and doctors had worked hard to reattach his feet. Women not taking contraceptives remembered more of the details of the scene, such as objects next to the car.

The studies showed how women taking contraceptive pills are more likely to remember events similarly to men, who tend to remember the gist of events rather than small details, because they have lover levels of the female hormone.

It is believed that these studies could help answer questions on why women experience post traumatic stress syndrome more frequently.

Mr Nielsen stated that their “absolutely needs” to be more work done investigating the effects of hormonal contraception as there “are over 100 million female users worldwide”.

“Our lab plans to continue investigating the influence of hormonal contraception on emotional memory as well as the influences of endogenous oestrogen and progesterone,” said Mr Neilsen.

By Bethan Hâf Marsh

[Image courtesy of Amber B McN]