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Kota Chin, BS
Pronouns
She/her
Rank
Research Staff
Institution
Psychiatry Neuroimaging lab (Mass General Brigham)
Department
Authors
Kota Chin, Elana Kotler, Owen Borders, Anastasia Haidar, Twishi Puri, Carina Heller, Marek Kubicki, Ann-Christin Kimmig, Birgit Derntl, Zora Kikinis
Principal Investigator
Categories:
Background: Recently, there has been a rise in oral contraceptive (OC) discontinuation, often due to adverse side effects on mood. The mechanism of OCs relies on the addition of synthetic hormones in order to suppress endogenous ovarian hormone fluctuations. Endogenous ovarian hormones are known to influence brain development, but limited research exists on how OCs impact brain structure and function. We aim to investigate the impact of OC cessation on a group of brain structures associated with sex hormones and mood regulation, referred to as the Neural Correlates of Mood (NCoM), and their correlation to depressive symptoms.
Methods: This study included 20 women aged 18-31 (mean = 23.15 years of age, SD = 3.47) who discontinued OCs. Baseline measurements were collected during active OC use and repeated 4-7 months post-cessation. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were conducted at both timepoints. The scans were processed using Freesurfer (v7.1.0) to extract volumetric measurements of the NCoM region, (i.e. anterior cingulate gyrus, orbitofrontal gyrus, medial prefrontal gyrus, hippocampus, amygdala, and basal ganglia). Repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to determine whether discontinuing OCs yielded significant changes in BDI scores and NCoM volume, and the relationship between these measures was then assessed using Pearson’s correlations.
Results: Preliminary results showed a 25% decrease in BDI scores between timepoints, indicating a significant reduction in depressive symptoms (p=.007). However, there was no significant change in the NCoM region volume between timepoints. Pearson’s correlations revealed no relationship between change in BDI scores and NCoM volumes after OC discontinuation (r=.111).
Conclusion: While discontinuing OCs may alleviate depressive symptoms, our study found no short-term impact on volumes of brain areas associated with mood regulation. These findings offer valuable insight into the biological impact of widely used synthetic hormones, prompting further exploration of potential long-term effects.
