No Differences in Value-Based Decision-Making Due to Use of Oral Contraceptives

Abstract

Fluctuating ovarian hormones have been shown to affect decision-making processes in women. While emerging evidence suggests effects of endogenous ovarian hormones such as estradiol and progesterone on value-based decision-making in women, the impact of exogenous synthetic hormones, as in most oral contraceptives, is not clear. In a between-subjects design, we assessed measures of value-based decision-making in three groups of women aged 18 to 29 years, during (1) active oral contraceptive intake (N = 22), (2) the early follicular phase of the natural menstrual cycle (N = 20), and (3) the periovulatory phase of the natural menstrual cycle (N = 20). Estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and sex-hormone binding globulin levels were assessed in all groups via blood samples. We used a test battery which measured different facets of value-based decision-making: delay discounting, risk-aversion, risk-seeking, and loss aversion. While hormonal levels did show the expected patterns for the three groups, there were no differences in value-based decision-making parameters. Consequently, Bayes factors showed conclusive evidence in support of the null hypothesis. We conclude that women on oral contraceptives show no differences in value-based decision-making compared to the early follicular and periovulatory natural menstrual cycle phases.

Evaluating the Cognitive Impacts of Drospirenone, a Spironolactone-Derived Progestin, Independently and in Combination With Ethinyl Estradiol in Ovariectomized Adult Rats

“…A growing body of research supports the tenet that oral contraceptives impact cognition and alter brain function in task- and composition- dependent manners (e.g., Gogos, 2013 ; Egan and Gleason, 2012 ; Beltz et al, 2015 , 2022 ; Porcu et al, 2019 ; Taylor et al, 2020 ; Ycaza Herrera et al, 2020 ; Gravelsins et al, 2021 ; Lewis et al, 2022 ; Menting-Henry et al, 2022 ). Overall, the current series of experiments found that the spironolactone-derived progestin drospirenone has beneficial effects for spatial working memory performance in a young adult Ovx rat model, and that the synthetic estrogen EE has variable effects on behavior that depend on dose and combination with drospirenone.…”