Study of Daily Oral Hormonal Contraceptives Versus Placebo in Adult Females to Understand Effects on Brain Reward and Mood

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to understand how hormonal oral contraceptives affect brain processes and emotional wellbeing in adult females. The study focuses on how a combination of synthetic estrogen and progestin may impact reward processing, mood, and sexual function. Researchers will explore changes in brain activity related to pleasure and anticipation using brain imaging techniques. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups one group will take a hormonal oral contraceptive pill daily for 21 days, and the other group will take a placebo pill that looks identical but has no active ingredients. During this three-week period, participants will complete daily check-in surveys using a computer or mobile device. They will also attend two additional visits for urine drug screening, blood tests, brain imaging MRI, and behavioral questionnaires. Throughout the study, participants will be monitored for changes in mood, sexual function, and brain activity using specific rating scales and MRI scans. Researchers will measure changes before and after the 21-day treatment period. The entire participation lasts about three weeks, and study procedures include remote screening, medication or placebo intake, surveys, and clinical visits to collect data on how the treatment influences emotional and neural responses.

Contraceptive Hormone and Reward Measurement (CHARM Study)