Are Birth Control Pills Making Women Smarter?

by Brittany Shoot · 2010-10-07 10:15:00 UTC
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When I went off the pill for the first time in my adult life earlier this year, my body did some pretty wonky things. My mood swings were wild, my period temporarily stopped altogether (scaring the crap out of me, as you can imagine), and my sex drive went totally haywire. I expected a few weird brain-related side effects — and as far as I can tell, I didn't get dumber — but could any of this have anything to do with what hormonal contraceptives do to women's brains?

According to a new study in the journal Brain Research, birth control pills have a structural effect on the brain. For all of us non-scientists, that essentially means that extended use of the pill can be a bit like being on steroids. Certain parts of your brain gain matter simply because of the hormones.

The study looked at three types of brains: those of men, women not taking hormonal contraceptives, and women on the pill. When compared, women on the pill showed more gray matter in some brain areas, including the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with cognitive activity like decision-making. However, when you start messing with one part of the brain — even the part that makes you smarter — you're likely to end up with an imbalanced brain. You could get smarter... or, as an article in Scientific American put it, "the brain may go all catawampus." Yes, a science magazine used that word. Then again, they also called taking the pill a "steroidal tsunami." Yowza.

Popular Science points out that this may be why lab rats given estrogen tend to perform better than those without. They also mention previous studies that the pill can have such a marked impact on women, it can even change their taste in men. (I guess they didn't check with queer women on hormonal contraceptives.)

Since we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the pill this year, it seems as good a time as any to reevaluate just what it's doing for us — let alone to us. As Alex DiBranco has written, there are lots of birth control options if the pill isn't right for you. Take it from a gal who is oh-so-happy to be free of her daily drug: there is life after hormonal disruption. Even if it did, even in theory, make you smarter.

Photo Credit: tibchris

Brittany Shoot is a freelance writer, editor and critic. She's one of the editors of the Feminist Review blog and a frequent contributor to a variety of progressive publications.
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