Survey study, 2023
Does taking hormone contraceptives change how well women remember or think in 3D?
Women taking hormone contraceptives were better at remembering objects than naturally cycling women. There was no difference in 3D spatial thinking between the groups.
What they did
Cross-sectional study comparing women taking hormone contraceptives with naturally cycling women on two cognitive tasks: an object memory task where they identified objects they had seen before, and a spatial ability task where they mentally rotated 3D shapes.
What they found
Women on hormone contraceptives performed significantly better at identifying novel objects compared to naturally cycling women. No significant difference was found on the mental rotation task. Among naturally cycling women, performance did not differ between those menstruating during testing and those not menstruating.
What it means for you
Hormone contraceptives may help with object memory, possibly because they maintain steady hormone levels rather than the ups and downs of natural menstrual cycles. They do not appear to affect spatial thinking abilities.
About the study
- Original title
- The Effects of Hormone Contraceptives and Menstruation on Object Memory and Spatial Ability in Young Women
- Authors
- Thrasher CA, Otto L, Harburger LL
- Journal
- Psychological reports
- Year
- 2023
- Study design
- Survey study
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1177/00332941221079608
Topics
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