Oral contraceptives and cognition: A systematic review

Caroline Gurvich, Isobel Nicholls, Alex Lavale, Jayashri Kulkarni

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Oral contraceptives (OCs) are widely used. While the physical impacts of OCs have been well researched, there is increasing interest on potential impacts of OCs on brain, behaviour and cognition. We systematically reviewed the literature to determine the influence of OCs on cognition, including neurocognition, social cognition and emotional processing. Inclusionary criteria were: (a) premenopausal females taking OCs; (b) a control group of naturally cycling women or OCs users in their inactive (i.e. ‘sugar pill’) phase; and (c) at least one measure of performance on a neurocognitive or social cognitive task. The systematic review found that OC use was associated with some differences in performance on all cognitive domains examined (with the exception of basic auditory attention and psychomotor performance). Several factors were identified that are likely to modulate the way OCs influence cognition, including task related factors, OC type and control group characteristics. Directions for future research are highlighted.

Original languageEnglish
Article number101052
Number of pages22
JournalFrontiers in Neuroendocrinology
Volume69
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2023

Keywords

  • Cognition
  • Emotion recognition
  • Hormonal contraceptive
  • Memory
  • Neuropsychological
  • Oral contraceptive
  • Social cognition

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