PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Millions of women rely on contraceptives, but new Rice study shows they may do more than just prevent pregnancy

Research suggests hormonal birth control can also influence emotions and memory, shaping daily reality for women worldwide

2025-08-29
(Press-News.org) Hormonal birth control is a fact of life for millions of women. In the U.S. alone, more than 60 million women of reproductive age have used contraceptives according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most often to prevent pregnancy but also to manage conditions such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome and irregular cycles.

And as many women will attest, these drugs can affect more than the body. Mood changes, weight fluctuations and emotional ups and downs are common stories women share. But a new Rice University study finds the effects may be more complex — and in some ways, surprising.

The study, “Emotion regulation strategies differentially impact memory in hormonal contraceptive users” published in Hormones and Behavior, shows that hormonal contraceptives appear to shape how women experience emotions in the moment and how they remember emotional events later.

“For women, the findings highlight what many have long suspected: Birth control can affect more than reproductive health,” said Beatriz Brandao, a graduate student in Rice’s Department of Psychological Sciences and lead author of the study. “Hormonal birth control does more than prevent pregnancy — it also influences brain areas involved in emotions and memory, which are central to mental health.”

Researchers compared women using hormonal contraceptives with women who were naturally cycling. Participants viewed positive, negative and neutral images while applying different emotion regulation strategies, such as distancing, reinterpretation or immersion, and later completed a memory test.

Women on hormonal contraceptives showed stronger emotional reactions compared to naturally cycling women. When they used strategies like distancing or reinterpretation, they remembered fewer details of negative events, though their general memory remained intact. In other words, they could recall the overall event but not all of the specifics. That gap may actually be helpful, allowing women to move on instead of replaying unpleasant details. Strategies like immersion boosted memory for positive images in both groups, making happy moments stick more clearly.

The findings add weight to a question many women have had but few studies have answered: How does birth control affect not just the body but the mind? Emotion regulation and memory are tied to mental health outcomes such as depression, and this research suggests hormonal contraceptives may influence those processes in subtle but meaningful ways.

“We were surprised to find that when women on hormonal birth control used strategies like distancing or reinterpretation, they remembered fewer details of negative events,” Brandao said. “That reduced memory for unpleasant experiences may actually be protective.”

“These results are novel and shed light on how hormonal contraceptives may influence emotion and memory processes in important ways,” said Bryan Denny, associate professor of psychological sciences at Rice and co-author of the study. “Beatriz’s work is ongoing and programmatic, allowing for continued investigation of these processes in women taking hormonal contraceptives as well as in naturally cycling women.”

“These findings are very exciting,” said Stephanie Leal, adjunct assistant professor of psychological sciences at Rice, assistant professor at UCLA and senior author of the study. “They suggest that hormonal birth control has the ability to modulate both how women can regulate their emotions as well as how that regulation may influence memory, especially toward negative experiences.”

Brandao and her collaborators plan to expand the work by studying naturally cycling women across different menstrual phases and by comparing types of hormonal contraceptives, such as pills versus IUDs.

“Ultimately, our goal is to understand how reproductive hormones — whether natural or synthetic — shape emotional health so that women can make more informed choices about their reproductive and mental health,” Brandao said.

The study was co-authored by Madelyn Castro, Jacob B. Buergler and Kayla R. Clark.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Hot days make for icy weather, Philippine study finds

2025-08-29
The Philippines, like other tropical countries, is known more for its balmy climate than for hailstorms. But a new Philippine study—the first of its kind—has found that the country’s hottest days are, in fact, more likely to produce hail. Hailstorms are so few and far between in the Philippines that, even in an age of pervasive social media updates, they are still met with amazement and astonishment. “Most people are surprised when hail happens because it is relatively rare in the Philippines,” ...

Roxana Mehran, MD, receives the most prestigious award given by the European Society of Cardiology

2025-08-29
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has selected Roxana Mehran, MD, Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Research and Clinical Trials at the Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, as a winner of the organization’s top honor. Dr. Mehran was presented with the “ESC Gold Medal” during a special ceremony at the ESC Congress in Madrid on Friday, August 29. The ESC Gold Medal recognizes exceptional scientists for their contributions to cardiovascular ...

World's first clinical trial showing lubiprostone aids kidney function

2025-08-29
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health issue worldwide. Many patients end up requiring regular dialysis to avoid kidney failure and stay alive. Despite the severity of the condition, there are currently no drugs available that improve kidney function. A research group led by Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine’s Professor Takaaki Abe has found a remarkable solution to treat patients with CKD by co-opting a drug typically used for constipation. This is the first time that this drug (lubiprostone) was shown to prevent the decline of renal function in patients with ...

Capturing language change through the genes

2025-08-29
Throughout human history, there have been many instances where two populations came into contact – especially in the past few thousand years because of large-scale migrations as a consequence of conquests, colonialization, and, more recently, globalization. During these encounters, not only did populations exchange genetic material, but also cultural elements. When populations interact, they may borrow technologies, beliefs, practices, and also, crucially, aspects of language. With this, sounds, words or grammatical patterns can be exchanged ...

Public trust in elections increases with clear facts

2025-08-29
With control of Congress and a check on the Trump administration at issue in the 2026 midterm elections, the upcoming election cycle may again see claims of voter fraud. But warning voters beforehand that there may be false claims about the election, and providing them with information on election security measures through "prebunking," can increase confidence in the results and decrease beliefs in voter fraud, according to a new study published in Science Advances. "Prebunking is effective because it provides people with novel facts about how elections are ...

Thawing permafrost raised carbon dioxide levels after the last ice age

2025-08-29
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere vary naturally between ice ages and interglacial periods. A new study by researchers at the University of Gothenburg shows that an unexpectedly large proportion of carbon dioxide emissions after the ice age may have come from thawing permafrost. For a long time, it was the shifts between ice ages and interglacial periods that determined how much carbon dioxide was in the atmosphere. During ice ages, CO2 levels fell, only to rise by around 100 ppm (parts per million) during interglacial ...

New DNA test reveals plants’ hidden climate role

2025-08-29
Few of us ever think about what happens beneath our feet when we walk through a field of wheat or clover. We see the stalks, leaves, and flowers, but in practice we have no direct access to the roots. Roots, however, are central. They anchor plants in the soil, supply them with water and nutrients, and contribute to carbon storage in the ground. But because roots are hidden, researchers have for decades struggled to measure how much biomass lies below and how it is distributed among species. “We have always known that roots are important, but we have lacked a precise tool to measure them. It’s a bit like studying marine ecosystems without ever being able to dive ...

Retinitis pigmentosa mouse models reflect pathobiology of human RP59

2025-08-29
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Retinitis pigmentosa retinal degeneration is caused by a family of hereditary mutations in nearly 100 genes that slowly lead to blindness over years or decades. One of those genes encodes the enzyme DHDDS, part of the pathway that glycosylates proteins in higher cells. Retinitis pigmentosa from DHDDS mutations is called RP59. This is a recessive genetic disease, meaning mutations must be present on both copies of the DHDDS gene to cause disease. To better understand and potentially treat RP59, Steven Pittler, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have created novel mouse models with mutations in the mouse gene for DHDDS. Their first model, ...

Cell’s ‘antenna’ could be key to curing diseases

2025-08-29
Some might say it looks like a finger. Others might see a worm. Scientists in the field often liken it to an antenna. The technical name is primary cilium. This slender, microscopic appendage juts out from the surface of most cells in the human body — and yet for many years, it was completely missing from textbook illustrations. Scientists began paying more attention to primary cilia around 2003. That’s when a scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), the late Kathryn Anderson, PhD, discovered that primary cilia play a hugely ...

Tiny ocean partnership between algae and bacteria reveals secrets of evolution

2025-08-29
The microscopic alliance between algae and bacteria offers rare, step-by-step snapshots of how bacteria lose genes and adapt to increasing host dependence. This is shown by a new study led by researchers from Stockholm University, in collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Linnaeus University, published in Current Biology.  In some of the most nutrient-poor waters of our oceans, tiny partnerships are hard at work keeping life going. These partnerships, called symbioses, are between microscopic algae known as diatoms and a specific bacteria called cyanobacteria that can take nitrogen ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Crosswalk confusion: MA drivers flummoxed by pedestrian hybrid beacons, find UMass Amherst researchers

Study shows heart disease mortality disproportionately burdens low-income communities in California

Intracardiac echocardiography recognized as ‘transformative’ imaging modality in new SCAI position statement

Study finds ‘man’s best friend’ slows cellular aging in female veterans

To get representative health data, researchers hand out fitbits

Hiring in high-growth firms: new study explores the timing of organizational changes

Boosting work engagement through a simple smartphone diary

Climate change may create ‘ecological trap’ for species who can’t adapt

Scientists create ChatGPT-like AI model for neuroscience to build one of the most detailed mouse brain maps to date

AI and omics unlock personalized drugs and RNA therapies for heart disease

2023 ocean heatwave ‘unprecedented but not unexpected’

Johns Hopkins researchers develop AI to predict risk of US car crashes

New drug combination offers hope for men with advanced prostate cancer

New discovery finds gene converts insulin-producing cells into blood-sugar boosters

Powerful and precise multi-color lasers now fit on a single chip

Scientists agree chemicals can affect behavior, but industry workers more reluctant about safety testing

DNA nanospring measures cellular motor power

Elsevier Foundation and RIKEN launch “Envisioning Futures” report: paving the way for gender equity and women’s leadership in Japanese research

Researchers discover enlarged areas of the spinal cord in fish, previously found only in four-limbed vertebrates

Bipolar disorder heterogeneity decoded: transforming global psychiatric treatment approaches

Catching Alport syndrome through universal age-3 urine screening

Instructions help you remember something better than emotions or a good night’s sleep

Solar energy is now the world’s cheapest source of power, a Surrey study finds

Scientists reverse Alzheimer’s in mice using nanoparticles

‘Good’ gut bacteria boosts placenta for healthier pregnancy

USC team demonstrates first optical device based on “optical thermodynamics”

Microplastics found to change gut microbiome in first human-sample study

Artificially sweetened and sugary drinks are both associated with an increased risk of liver disease, study finds

Plastic in the soil, but not as we know it: Biodegradable microplastics rewire carbon storage in farm fields

Yeast proteins reveal the secrets of drought resistance

[Press-News.org] Millions of women rely on contraceptives, but new Rice study shows they may do more than just prevent pregnancy
Research suggests hormonal birth control can also influence emotions and memory, shaping daily reality for women worldwide