Hormonal contraceptives and the brain: A systematic review on 60 years of neuroimaging, EEG, and biochemical studies in humans and animals

Song, Joan; Patton, Caroline; Friedman, Renée; Mahajan, Lakshmi S; Nordlicht, Rachel; Sayed, Rahman; Lipton, Michael L.

doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2022.101051

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…With respect to the pronounced memory advantage of females for positive material, we can just speculate, that this specific valence-dependent advantage could be related to female hormone effects. We had previously observed difference in memory recall due to HC-use (Spalek et al, 2019), and there is evidence from the literature that HC-use and MC-phase is related to structural and functional brain changes (Dubol et al, 2021;Song et al, 2023). Therefore, we investigated if there were any HCuse dependent differences associated with the connectome measures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Sex‐dependent differences in connectivity patterns are related to episodic memory recall

Spalek,

Coynel,

de Quervain

et al. 2023

Human Brain Mapping

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Previous studies have shown that females typically outperform males on episodic memory tasks. In this study, we investigated if (1) there are differences between males and females in their connectome characteristics, (2) if these connectivity patterns are associated with memory performance, and (3) if these brain connectome characteristics contribute to the differences in episodic memory performance between sexes. In a sample of 655 healthy young subjects (n = 391 females; n = 264 males), we derived brain network characteristics from diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) data using models of crossing fibers within each voxel of the brain and probabilistic tractography (graph strength, shortest path length, global efficiency, and weighted transitivity). Group differences were analysed with linear models and mediation analyses were used to explore how connectivity patterns might relate to sex‐dependent differences in memory performance. Our results show significant sex‐dependent differences in weighted transitivity (d = 0.42), with males showing higher values. Further, we observed a negative association between weighted transitivity and memory performance (r = −0.12). Finally, these distinct connectome characteristics partially mediated the observed differences in memory performance (effect size of the indirect effect r = 0.02). Our findings indicate a higher interconnectedness in females compared to males. Additionally, we demonstrate that the sex‐dependent differences in episodic memory performance can be partially explained by the differences in this connectome measure. These results further underscore the importance of sex‐dependent differences in brain connectivity and their impact on cognitive function.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Sex‐dependent differences in connectivity patterns are related to episodic memory recall

Spalek,

Coynel,

de Quervain

et al. 2023

Human Brain Mapping

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“…Secondly, a larger sample size would be desirable, allowing for the inclusion of women in different menstrual cycle phases. This should, as far as possible, not only distinguish between OC‐taking and free‐cycling women (in comparison to each other and to men) but also consider different OC methods (single vs. different combination agents) as well as different hormonal contraceptives and menstrual cycle phases (Brønnick et al, 2020; Pletzer et al, 2023; Song et al, 2023). This undoubtedly requires the generation of large‐scale samples in the context of stress induction in the MRI, which do not yet exist.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between cortisol stress responses and limbic volume and thickness in young adults: An exploratory study

Henze,

Konzok,

Kudielka

et al. 2023

Eur J of Neuroscience

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The investigation of the relationship between neural measures of limbic structures and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis responses to acute stress exposure in healthy young adults has so far focused in particular on task‐based and resting state functional connectivity studies. Thus, the present study examined the association between limbic volume and thickness measures and acute cortisol responses to the psychosocial stress paradigm ScanSTRESS. Using Permutation Analysis of Linear Models controlling for sex, age and total brain volume, the associations between (sex‐specific) cortisol increases and human connectome project style anatomical variables of limbic structures (i.e. volume and thickness) were investigated in 66 healthy and young (18–33 years) subjects (35 men, 31 women taking oral contraceptives). In addition, exploratory (sex‐specific) bivariate correlations between cortisol increases and structural measures were conducted. The present data provide interesting new insights into the involvement of striato‐limbic structures in psychosocial stress processing, suggesting that acute cortisol stress responses are also associated with mere structural measures of the human brain. Thus, our preliminary findings suggest that not only situation‐ and context‐dependent reactions of the limbic system (i.e. blood oxygenation level‐dependent reactions) are related to acute (sex‐specific) cortisol stress responses but also basal and somewhat more constant structural measures. Our study hereby paves the way for further analyses in this context and highlights the relevance of the topic.

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“…The inclusion criteria were as follows: age between 18 and 75 years with first acute ischemic stroke of the anterior circulation system within 2–10 days, stable medical condition, conscious and alert, able to follow commands, and a Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of ≤ 4. Participants were excluded if they had a hemorrhagic stroke, recurrent stroke, unilateral neglect, pusher syndrome, other neurological disorders (e.g., normal pressure hydrocephalus), contraindication to tDCS (i.e., metal implantation, intracranial shunt, cardiac pacemakers, open or infectious wound around the scalp, history of epilepsy), or any factor that could interfere with EEG (i.e., ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular ischemia, late-stage kidney or liver disease, body mass index > 30 kg/m 2 , or undergoing hormonal treatment [ 34 – 37 ]). All medications were recorded; none of the participants received any medications that could affect tDCS efficacy (i.e., sodium and calcium channel blockers) [ 38 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of anodal tDCS on resting state eeg power and motor function in acute stroke: a randomized controlled trial

Vimolratana,

Aneksan,

Siripornpanich

et al. 2024

J NeuroEngineering Rehabil

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Background Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a beneficial adjunctive tool in stroke rehabilitation. However, only a few studies have investigated its effects on acute stroke and recruited only individuals with mild motor deficits. This study investigated the effect of five consecutive sessions of anodal tDCS and conventional physical therapy on brain activity and motor outcomes in individuals with acute stroke, with low and high motor impairments. Methods Thirty participants were recruited and randomly allocated to either the anodal or sham tDCS group. Five consecutive sessions of tDCS (1.5 mA anodal or sham tDCS for 20 min) were administered, followed by conventional physical therapy. Electroencephalography (EEG), Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (FMA), and Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) were performed at pre-, post-intervention (day 5), and 1-month follow-up. Sub-analyses were performed on participants with low and high motor impairments. The relationship between EEG power and changes in motor functions was assessed. Results Linear regression showed a significant positive correlation between beta bands and the FMA score in the anodal group. Elevated high frequency bands (alpha and beta) were observed at post-intervention and follow-up in all areas of both hemispheres in the anodal group, while only in the posterior area of the non-lesioned hemisphere in the sham group; however, such elevation induced by tDCS was not greater than sham. Lower limb function assessed by FMA was improved in the anodal group compared with the sham group at post-intervention and follow-up only in those with low motor impairment. For the upper limb outcomes, no difference between groups was found. Conclusions Five consecutive days of anodal tDCS and physical therapy in acute stroke did not result in a superior improvement of beta bands that commonly related to stroke recovery over sham, but improved lower extremity functions with a post-effect at 1-month follow-up in low motor impairment participants. The increase of beta bands in the lesioned brain in the anodal group was associated with improvement in lower limb function. Trial registration: NCT04578080, date of first registration 10/01/2020.

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Hormonal contraceptives and the brain: A systematic review on 60 years of neuroimaging, EEG, and biochemical studies in humans and animals

Cited by 7 publications

References 99 publications

Sex‐dependent differences in connectivity patterns are related to episodic memory recall

Sex‐dependent differences in connectivity patterns are related to episodic memory recall

Associations between cortisol stress responses and limbic volume and thickness in young adults: An exploratory study

Effects of anodal tDCS on resting state eeg power and motor function in acute stroke: a randomized controlled trial

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