Contraceptive pill 'can affect emotions by changing structure of brain'

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Neuroscientists have found that steroid hormones in birth control pills could affect the way the brain works due a thinner structure caused by synthetic estrogen and progestogen. A study of 90 women – 44 of which were taking the pill – found that the group who used oral birth control had “significantly lower cortical thickness measurements” in two parts of the brain. open image in gallery Women's mental states and relationships are being put at risk by the pill The study’s lead author Nicole Petersen, of UCLA, told the Huffington Post that the emotional side effects some women had reported while taking the pill may be related to these changes in the brain structure, although it was not clear if the changes are permanent. “It’s possible that this change in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex may be related to the emotional changes that some women experience when using birth control pills,” she said.