Summary: A new study finds that hormonal contraceptives can alter both the way women respond emotionally in the moment and how they remember emotional events later. Compared with naturally cycling women, those using hormonal birth control showed stronger immediate emotional reactions and—when using regulation strategies such as distancing or reinterpretation—retained fewer specific details of negative events while still remembering the general event.
This selective reduction in memory for unpleasant details may be adaptive, helping women disengage from negative experiences. The results point to effects of hormonal contraceptives on brain systems that support emotional processing and memory, suggesting implications that extend beyond reproductive health.
Key Facts
- Stronger emotional reactions: Women using hormonal contraceptives reported more intense responses to emotional images than naturally cycling women.
- Selective memory changes: When applying distancing or reinterpretation strategies, contraceptive users recalled fewer details of negative images while retaining overall memory of the event.
- Possible protective effect: Reduced recall for unpleasant specifics could support emotional resilience by preventing replay of distressing details.
Source: Rice University
Hormonal birth control affects more than reproduction for many women.
In the United States, more than 60 million women of reproductive age have used contraceptives, both to prevent pregnancy and to manage conditions such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome and irregular menstrual cycles. Beyond physical effects, many users report mood changes and fluctuations in emotional experience. The new Rice University study provides a more detailed look at how hormonal contraceptives may influence emotional processing and memory.
Published in Hormones and Behavior, the study titled “Emotion regulation strategies differentially impact memory in hormonal contraceptive users” examines how hormonal contraceptives interact with common emotion regulation strategies and subsequent memory for emotional material.
Led by Beatriz Brandao of Rice’s Department of Psychological Sciences, the research compared women who use hormonal contraceptives with naturally cycling women. Participants viewed positive, negative and neutral images while applying regulation strategies such as distancing, reinterpretation or immersion, and later completed an unexpected memory test.
Overall, contraceptive users showed heightened emotional reactivity to images. Both groups were capable of applying regulation strategies effectively, but a notable pattern emerged: when contraceptive users applied distancing or reinterpretation, they later remembered fewer details of negative images, even though their overall recollection of the event remained intact. In contrast, immersion—engaging fully with the image—enhanced memory for positive images in both groups.
The distinction is important. Reduced detail for negative experiences could serve a protective purpose, allowing a person to recall that an unpleasant event occurred without repeatedly reliving all of the distressing specifics. That mechanism has potential implications for mental health, since emotion regulation and memory processes contribute to outcomes such as depression and anxiety.
“For women, the findings highlight what many have long suspected: birth control can affect more than reproductive health,” said Beatriz Brandao. “Hormonal birth control appears to influence brain regions involved in emotion and memory, which are central to mental well-being.”
Bryan Denny, associate professor of psychological sciences and co-author, noted that the results open a path for continued investigation into how synthetic reproductive hormones shape cognitive and emotional functioning. Stephanie Leal, senior author, emphasized that the study suggests hormonal contraceptives can modulate both emotion regulation and the memory consequences of that regulation, particularly for negative experiences.
The research team plans follow-up studies that will examine naturally cycling women across different menstrual phases and compare effects across contraceptive types, such as oral contraceptives versus intrauterine devices. The aim is to clarify how natural and synthetic reproductive hormones influence emotional health so women can make better-informed decisions about their reproductive and mental health care.
The study was co-authored by Madelyn Castro, Jacob B. Buergler and Kayla R. Clark.
About this neuroscience research news
Author: Kat Cosley Trigg
Source: Rice University
Contact: Kat Cosley Trigg – Rice University
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access. “Emotion regulation strategies differentially impact memory in hormonal contraceptive users” by Beatriz Brandao et al., Hormones and Behavior. DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2025.105805
Abstract
Emotion regulation strategies differentially impact memory in hormonal contraceptive users
Hormonal contraceptives (HCs) are widely used, but their effects on emotional and cognitive processes are not fully understood. This study investigated whether HC use alters emotional reactivity, the effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies, and subsequent emotional memory.
A total of 179 female participants were included: 87 using hormonal contraceptives and 92 naturally cycling. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: control (no regulation), distancing paired with immersion, or reinterpretation paired with immersion. After training to apply the assigned strategies, participants viewed emotional images and later completed a surprise memory test.
Results showed greater emotional reactivity to emotional images among HC users compared to naturally cycling participants. Both groups successfully applied regulation strategies, as indexed by changes in reported affect. Distancing produced larger reductions in negative affect than reinterpretation, especially in the HC group. Immersion improved memory for positive images in both groups. For negative images, however, HC users had reduced memory when applying distancing or reinterpretation—a pattern not observed in naturally cycling women.
These findings indicate that hormonal contraceptive use may selectively influence aspects of emotional processing and memory, underscoring the importance of further research into the cognitive and emotional effects of synthetic reproductive hormones.