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Velasco ER, Florido A, Perez-Caballero L, Marin I, Andero R. The Impacts of Sex Differences and Sex Hormones on Fear Extinction. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2023; 64:105-132. [PMID: 37528309 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2023_426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
Fear extinction memories are strongly modulated by sex and hormonal status, but the exact mechanisms are still being discovered. In humans, there are some basal and task-related features in which male and female individuals differ in fear conditioning paradigms. However, analyses considering the effects of sex hormones demonstrate a role for estradiol in fear extinction memory consolidation. Translational studies are taking advantage of the convergent findings between species to understand the brain structures implicated. Nevertheless, the human brain is complex and the transfer of these findings into the clinics remains a challenge. The promising advances in the field together with the standardization of fear extinction methodologies in humans will benefit the design of new personalized therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Raul Velasco
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Antonio Florido
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Psicobiologia i de Metodologia de les Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laura Perez-Caballero
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Psicobiologia i de Metodologia de les Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ignacio Marin
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Raul Andero
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
- Departament de Psicobiologia i de Metodologia de les Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
- Unitat de Neurociència Traslacional, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.
- ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona, Spain.
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2
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Hantsoo L, Duffy KA, Sammel M, Johnson RL, Kim D, Grillon C, Epperson CN. Enduring impact of childhood adversity: Affective modulation of acoustic startle response during pregnancy and postpartum. Physiol Behav 2023; 258:114031. [PMID: 36402424 PMCID: PMC9762518 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.114031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2022] [Revised: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Women with a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) enter pregnancy and the postpartum with a physiologic system programmed by early life stress, potentially reflected in psychophysiologic reactivity. METHODS We enrolled pregnant, psychiatrically healthy women ≥18 years old. Using the ACE Questionnaire, women were categorized as high (≥2 ACEs; n = 77) or low ACE (<2 ACEs; n = 72). Participants completed an affective modulation of acoustic startle response (ASR) task during pregnancy and postpartum, in which ASR magnitude was measured while participants viewed pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral pictures. Two types of control trials were included (habituation trials presented at baseline and intertrial interval trials presented when no picture was present). RESULTS Among high ACE women, ASR was significantly higher postpartum compared with pregnancy in the unpleasant (p = 0.002, β = 0.46, 95% CI [0.18, 0.74], χ2 = 10.12, z = 3.18) and intertrial interval trials (p = 0.002, β = 0.44, 95% CI [0.16, 0.73], χ2 = 9.25, z = 3.04), accounting for multiple comparisons using a Bonferroni correction at p < 0.005. Among low ACE women, ASR was similar in pregnancy and postpartum. CONCLUSIONS Physiological reactivity increased in high ACE women from pregnancy to postpartum, but no change was observed in low ACE women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liisa Hantsoo
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 550 N. Broadway Street, Baltimore, MD, United States.
| | - Korrina A Duffy
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, United States
| | - Mary Sammel
- Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, 13001 E. 17(th) Place, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO, 80045, United States
| | - Rachel L Johnson
- Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, 13001 E. 17(th) Place, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO, 80045, United States
| | - Deborah Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3535 Market St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, United States
| | - Christian Grillon
- National Institute of Mental Health, 15K North Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, United States
| | - C Neill Epperson
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, United States; Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, United States
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3
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Kimmig ACS, Wildgruber D, Gärtner A, Drotleff B, Krylova M, Lämmerhofer M, Sundström-Poromaa I, Derntl B. Lower affective empathy in oral contraceptive users: a cross-sectional fMRI study. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:4319-4333. [PMID: 36137568 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Evidence accumulates that oral contraceptive (OC) use modulates various socio-affective behaviors, including empathic abilities. Endogenous and synthetic sex hormones, such as estrogens and progestogens, bind to receptor sites in brain regions (i.e. frontal, limbic, and cerebellar) involved in socio-affective processing. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of OC use in empathy. In a cross-sectional functional magnetic resonance imaging study, women in different hormonal states, including OC use (n = 46) or being naturally cycling in the early follicular (fNC: n = 37) or peri-ovulatory phase (oNC: n = 28), performed a visual, sentence-based empathy task. Behaviorally, OC users had lower empathy ratings than oNC women. Congruently, whole-brain analysis revealed significantly larger task-related activation of several brain regions, including the left dorsomedial prefrontal gyrus (dmPFG), left precentral gyrus, and left temporoparietal junction in oNC compared to OC women. In OC users, the activity of the left dmPFG and precentral gyrus was negatively associated with behavioral and self-reported affective empathy. Furthermore, empathy-related region-of-interest analysis indicated negative associations of brain activation with synthetic hormone levels in OC women. Overall, this multimodal, cross-sectional investigation of empathy suggests a role of OC intake in especially affective empathy and highlights the importance of including synthetic hormone levels in OC-related analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann-Christin Sophie Kimmig
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.,Graduate Training Centre of Neuroscience, International Max Planck Research School, University of Tübingen, Ottfried-Müller-Str. 27, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Dirk Wildgruber
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anna Gärtner
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Bernhard Drotleff
- Department of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmaceutical (Bio-)Analysis, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina Krylova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743 Jena, Germany.,Department of Radiology, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Physics Group, Jena University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany
| | - Michael Lämmerhofer
- Department of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmaceutical (Bio-)Analysis, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Inger Sundström-Poromaa
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, University of Uppsala, Akademiska sjukhuset, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.,LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of Tübingen, Europastraße 6, 72072 Tübingen Germany
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4
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Schmidt NM, Hennig J, Munk AJL. Event-Related Potentials in Women on the Pill: Neural Correlates of Positive and Erotic Stimulus Processing in Oral Contraceptive Users. Front Neurosci 2022; 15:798823. [PMID: 35058744 PMCID: PMC8764149 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.798823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background/Aims: Exposure toward positive emotional cues with - and without - reproductive significance plays a crucial role in daily life and regarding well-being as well as mental health. While possible adverse effects of oral contraceptive (OC) use on female mental and sexual health are widely discussed, neural processing of positive emotional stimuli has not been systematically investigated in association with OC use. Considering reported effects on mood, well-being and sexual function, and proposed associations with depression, it was hypothesized that OC users showed reduced neural reactivity toward positive and erotic emotional stimuli during early as well as later stages of emotional processing and also rated these stimuli as less pleasant and less arousing compared to naturally cycling (NC) women. Method: Sixty-two female subjects (29 NC and 33 OC) were assessed at three time points across the natural menstrual cycle and corresponding time points of the OC regimen. Early (early posterior negativity, EPN) and late (late positive potential, LPP) event-related potentials in reaction to positive, erotic and neutral stimuli were collected during an Emotional Picture Stroop Paradigm (EPSP). At each appointment, subjects provided saliva samples for analysis of gonadal steroid concentration. Valence and arousal ratings were collected at the last appointment. Results: Oral contraceptive users had significantly lower endogenous estradiol and progesterone concentrations compared to NC women. No significant group differences in either subjective stimulus evaluations or neural reactivity toward positive and erotic emotional stimuli were observed. For the OC group, LPP amplitudes in reaction to erotic vs. neutral pictures differed significantly between measurement times across the OC regimen. Discussion: In this study, no evidence regarding alterations of neural reactivity toward positive and erotic stimuli in OC users compared to NC was found. Possible confounding factors and lines for future research are elaborated and discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norina M. Schmidt
- Department of Differential and Biological Psychology, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany
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5
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Gamsakhurdashvili D, Antov MI, Stockhorst U. Sex-hormone status and emotional processing in healthy women. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2021; 130:105258. [PMID: 34058558 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2020] [Revised: 03/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Fluctuations of sex hormones across the menstrual cycle allow investigating the role of 17-β estradiol and progesterone in emotional processing. We examined emotional memory, empathy-related measures, as well as mimic and skin-conductance responses to affective stimuli in 72 women either in the mid-cycle (MC-group: moderate to high estradiol, low progesterone), the later cycle (LC-group: high progesterone, moderate estradiol), or during oral contraceptive use (OC-group: low endogenous ovarian-hormone levels). In the first session, affective pictures were presented (memory encoding) while recording mimic and skin-conductance responses. Additionally, participants were exposed to a post-encoding stressor (cold pressor test). After 24 h, we tested surprise recall as well as empathy-related performance. Emotional memory was not affected by the hormone-status group, stressor, or salivary hormone levels. For the cognitive empathy-related measure, hormone status interacted with the protagonist gender. Women in the LC- and OC-groups identified emotions more accurately if depicted by female protagonists, yet the MC-group identified emotions depicted by men and women equally well. Correspondingly, the number of correctly identified emotions from male protagonists correlated positively with estradiol levels. In the affective empathy-related ratings, the OC-group showed a negativity bias, rating negative (vs. positive) emotions higher, although not associated with hormone levels. Mimic responses were not modulated by hormone-status group or related to hormone levels. Skin-conductance responses to negative pictures were heightened in the LC-group and correlated positively with progesterone levels. These data suggest a differential impact of female sex hormones on emotional processing, i.e., empathy-related performance and affective sympathetic reactivity, but not in emotional memory or affective mimic reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dali Gamsakhurdashvili
- Institute of Psychology, Experimental Psychology II and Biological Psychology, University of Osnabrück, Seminarstrasse 20, D-49074 Osnabrück, Germany.
| | - Martin I Antov
- Institute of Psychology, Experimental Psychology II and Biological Psychology, University of Osnabrück, Seminarstrasse 20, D-49074 Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Ursula Stockhorst
- Institute of Psychology, Experimental Psychology II and Biological Psychology, University of Osnabrück, Seminarstrasse 20, D-49074 Osnabrück, Germany
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6
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Stone LB, Lewis GM, Bylsma LM. The autonomic correlates of dysphoric rumination and post-rumination savoring. Physiol Behav 2020; 224:113027. [PMID: 32592700 PMCID: PMC7388732 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2020] [Revised: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Trait dysphoric rumination is a transdiagnostic factor associated with depression and anxiety that has also been linked with blunted respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of reduced emotion regulation capacity. However, the autonomic correlates of state dysphoric rumination remain unclear. We examined the physiological correlates of state dysphoric rumination and the potential repairing effects of savoring on autonomic functioning. To provide a comprehensive assessment of autonomic correlates, we examined changes in parasympathetic (RSA) and sympathetic (cardiac pre-ejection period, PEP; and electrodermal activity, EDA) arousal independently, as well as autonomic coordination among indices. Eighty-two women (ages 18-25) completed laboratory physiological assessments, including rumination and savoring tasks, and self-report measures of trait rumination. Dysphoric rumination was associated with sympathetic activation (i.e., decreases in PEP, increases in EDA), and subsequent savoring following a recovery period also corresponded with decreases in PEP. Trait rumination did not predict autonomic changes during state rumination. However, higher trait rumination was associated with greater sympathetic coordination (PEP-EDA correspondence) during savoring. In summary, dysphoric rumination co-occurred with sympathetic activation, and subsequent savoring successfully recruited sympathetic activity (PEP) redirected on positive moods and events. Results also emphasize the utility of examining sympathetic and parasympathetic indices, and coordination among autonomic indices to delineate autonomic activity associated with emotion regulation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey B Stone
- Department of Psychology, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA 23606, U.S..
| | - Genevieve M Lewis
- Department of Psychology, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA 23606, U.S
| | - Lauren M Bylsma
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.; Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, U. S
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7
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Rhythm and blues: Influence of CLOCK T3111C on peripheral electrophysiological indicators of negative affective processing. Physiol Behav 2020; 219:112831. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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8
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Lewis CA, Kimmig ACS, Zsido RG, Jank A, Derntl B, Sacher J. Effects of Hormonal Contraceptives on Mood: A Focus on Emotion Recognition and Reactivity, Reward Processing, and Stress Response. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2019; 21:115. [PMID: 31701260 PMCID: PMC6838021 DOI: 10.1007/s11920-019-1095-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW We review recent research investigating the relationship of hormonal contraceptives and mood with a focus on relevant underlying mechanisms, such as emotion recognition and reactivity, reward processing, and stress response. RECENT FINDINGS Adverse effects of hormonal contraceptives (HCs) on mood seem most consistent in women with a history of depressive symptoms and/or previous negative experience with HC-intake. Current evidence supports a negativity bias in emotion recognition and reactivity in HC-users, although inconsistent to some extent. Some data, however, do indicate a trend towards a blunted reward response and a potential dysregulation of the stress response in some HC-users. HC-effects on psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying mood are likely context-dependent. We provide suggestions on how to address some of the contributing factors to this variability in future studies, such as HC-dose, timing, administration-mode, and individual risk. A better understanding of how and when HCs affect mood is critical to provide adequate contraceptive choices to women worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin A Lewis
- Emotion Neuroimaging Lab, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1A, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
- International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen, Calwerstr, 14, 72076, Tuebingen, Germany.
| | - Ann-Christin S Kimmig
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen, Calwerstr, 14, 72076, Tuebingen, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Rachel G Zsido
- Emotion Neuroimaging Lab, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1A, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Alexander Jank
- Department of Obstetrics, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen, Calwerstr, 14, 72076, Tuebingen, Germany
- Werner Reichardt Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- LEAD Research School and Graduate Network, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Julia Sacher
- Emotion Neuroimaging Lab, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1A, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
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Zhao Y, Bijlsma EY, Verdouw MP, Groenink L. No effect of sex and estrous cycle on the fear potentiated startle response in rats. Behav Brain Res 2018; 351:24-33. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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10
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Hantsoo L, Golden CEM, Kornfield S, Grillon C, Epperson CN. Startling Differences: Using the Acoustic Startle Response to Study Sex Differences and Neurosteroids in Affective Disorders. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2018; 20:40. [PMID: 29777410 PMCID: PMC6050032 DOI: 10.1007/s11920-018-0906-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Neuroactive steroid hormones, such as estradiol and progesterone, likely play a role in the pathophysiology of female-specific psychiatric disorders such as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and postpartum depression and may contribute to the marked sex differences observed in the incidence and presentation of affective disorders. However, few tools are available to study the precise contributions of these neuroactive steroids (NSs). In this review, we propose that the acoustic startle response (ASR), an objective measure of an organism's response to an emotional context or stressor, is sensitive to NSs. As such, the ASR represents a unique translational tool that may help to elucidate the contribution of NSs to sex differences in psychiatric disorders. RECENT FINDINGS Findings suggest that anxiety-potentiated startle (APS) and prepulse inhibition of startle (PPI) are the most robust ASR paradigms for assessing contribution of NSs to affective disorders, while affective startle response modulation (ASRM) appears less diagnostic of sex or menstrual cycle (MC) effects. However, few studies have appropriately used ASR to test a priori hypotheses about sex or MC differences. We recommend that ASR studies account for sex as a biological variable (SABV) and hormonal status to further knowledge of NS contribution to affective disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liisa Hantsoo
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
| | - Carla E M Golden
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sara Kornfield
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Christian Grillon
- National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - C Neill Epperson
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Penn PROMOTES Research on Sex and Gender in Health, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Griksiene R, Monciunskaite R, Arnatkeviciute A, Ruksenas O. Does the use of hormonal contraceptives affect the mental rotation performance? Horm Behav 2018. [PMID: 29522764 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Oral contraceptive pill (OC) is one of the most popular form of contraception. Despite both behavioral and neuroimaging evidence of its significant impact on female brain and cognitive functions, much remains to be discovered regarding OCs targets in the brain and mechanisms of action. In the present study mental rotation performance was compared between women using anti-androgenic oral contraceptives (n = 35), naturally cycling (NC) women (n = 33) and men (n = 29). On average, OC users were less accurate than NC women and men. Men performed the task more accurately than NC women, but the difference reached significance only in the highest angular disparity condition (150 deg). The response time was positively related with progesterone level while accuracy was negatively related with 17ß-estradiol level, in NC, but not OC women. The comparison of slope and intercept values (parameters relating response time to angular disparity) revealed the main result of present study: OC users exhibited significantly lower slope compared to men and NC women, but there were no differences in intercept between groups. These results suggest that OC users instead of using rotation in mind strategy implemented some alternative method(s). We conclude that lower performance accuracy of OC users could be related to a less efficient performance strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramune Griksiene
- Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
| | - Rasa Monciunskaite
- Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Aurina Arnatkeviciute
- Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Osvaldas Ruksenas
- Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
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