Oral contraceptives and the serotonin 4 receptor: a molecular brain imaging study in healthy women.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Sex steroid hormones potently shape brain functions, including those critical to maintain mental health such as serotonin signaling. Use of oral contraceptives (OCs) profoundly changes endogenous sex steroid hormone levels and dynamics. Recent register-based studies show that starting an OC is associated with increased risk of developing depression. Here, we investigate whether use of OCs in healthy women is associated with a marker of the serotonin system in terms of serotonin 4 receptor (5-HT4R) brain imaging.

Methods

[¹¹C]SB207145-PET imaging data on 53 healthy women, of whom 16 used OCs, were available from the Cimbi database. We evaluated global effects of OC use on 5-HT4R binding in a latent variable model based on 5-HT4R binding across cortical an

SUBMITTER: Larsen SV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7586815 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature