Contraception affects women’s memory

By Janet E. Smith

March 26, 2012 6:30 pm

The studies on hormones and the effect that hormones have on women are turning up some fascinating data:

“If we reduce women’s sex hormone levels, the change in the type of information they recall is more like what a male participant might remember,” she says. The pill works by flattening out natural spikes in estrogen and progesterone — which is what triggers ovulation — and signals the body not to make additional hormones, keeping levels low throughout the cycle.

The results were the exact opposite for the women who weren’t on the pill: they were better at remembering details, such as what color shirt the boy had on, whether the mother wore glasses, or whether there was a fire hydrant at the intersection. The naturally cycling women couldn’t recall the general narrative of the story as well as they could these details.”