Pill endows women with larger brains, savviness

Differences in brain structure of both the genders have been subjected to many studies, but this is the first one to look at how the hormonal contraceptive impacts brain.

The study found that the contraceptive pill preferred by 25 percent of all 16 to 49-year-olds in Britain enhances cerebral size by three percent, reports the Daily Mail.

Belinda Pletzer of Salzburg University, Germany, said the sex hormones in the pill were clearly having a 'tremendous effect' on the female brain.

She added: "Larger volumes of a brain area could lead to an improvement of the functions this area is responsible for."

Scientists captured high-resolution images of the brains of 14 men and 28 women, half of whom were on the pill, says the journal Brain Research.

The women not on the pill were scanned more than once to explain hormonal fluctuations occuring over the course of a month.

Several areas of the brains of women on the pill were found to be larger than the brains of those not on the contraceptive.

The results were the same, independently of the brand or drug formulation, or how long it had been prescribed for.

The growth occurred in regions that scans showed to already be larger in women compared to men, like those involved in conversation.

However, the contraceptive appeared to have little effect on areas more dominant in men, including those associated with spatial skills such as map reading.