In novel study researchers have found that taking a contraceptive pill can make certain areas of women’s brain bigger. In additional research they also found that contraceptives enhance the conversation hub of the brain. Grey matter in the brain which is vital for memory and social skills also grows in size.
This is the first study of its kind that has observed the impact of the hormonal contraceptives on the brain. In a study trail researchers took high resolution images of the brains of fourteen men and twenty-eight women. Half of the women used contraceptive pill.
The brain scans of the women who were not on the contraceptive were taken more than once to calculate the hormonal oscillations that happen over the period of one month. Some areas of the brain of women taking the Pill were larger than those not taking Pill, reported the journal Brain Research.
It did not make any difference that which brand of the drug was and how long it had been prescribed for. The results remained same. The growth happened in areas which scans showed to already be greater in women compared to men, such as those engaged in conversation. Hormones in the Pill were evidently having a fabulous effect on women brain.
The behavioral changes due to use of contraceptive are likely to affect those abilities that are already better developed in women compared to men like, for example, memory, said lead researcher Dr Belinda Pletzer from Salzburg University. Larger volumes of a brain area could escort to an enhancement of the functions this area is responsible for, she added.
One theory is that estrogens used to stop eggs from being released and reinforces the connection between nerve cells in the brain. While several areas of brain got bigger but did not increase in overall size, and it is not known if these areas shrink back to their original dimensions when a woman comes off the Pill.