Taking birth control pills may shrink your brain's volume. This is what a neuroscientist discovered after undergoing a rigorous self-experiment.
For a period of over a year, Carina Heller of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in Minneapolis, scanned her brain 75 times to find out how it changes during her menstrual cycle, with or without contraceptives.
She used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan herself 25 times over five weeks to capture her brain activity through different stages of her menstrual cycle. After taking oral contraceptives for a few months, she then scanned herself 25 times over five weeks. Stopping the pill, she did the scans again over the same period. She considers herself to be the most-scanned woman in science.
Published in Nature, her research revealed that certain brain structures, particularly those associated with emotional and cognitive functions, changed significantly during the menstrual cycle and showed further difference when influenced by hormonal contraceptives.
Specifically, the researcher found a "rhythmic pattern of change" in her brain's volume as well as connectivity between brain regions over her menstrual cycle. While on birth control pills, the volume and connectivity of her brain decreased slightly.
Heller's research hopes to fill the gap in scientific studies about contraceptives and their effects on neurodevelopment.
She hopes to extend her study to include data on women with endometriosis, a condition wherein tissue similar to the uterus lining grows outside the uterus.
According to data from the National Library of Medicine, in the US, 25% of women between 15 and 44 who use contraception take the pill.
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