Ingrida Zelionkaitė has defended her thesis entitled "Exploring the Relationships between Hormonal Contraceptives and Emotional Functioning: a Psychophysiological Approach" for the degree of Doctor of Science in Biophysics.
Scientific supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ramunė Grikšienė (Vilnius University, Natural Sciences, Biophysics).
Composition of the Dissertation Defense Board: Chairperson - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Robertas Guzulaitis (Vilnius University, Natural Sciences, Biophysics); Dr. Kastytis Dapšys (Republican Vilnius Psychiatric Hospital, Natural Sciences, Biophysics), Prof. Dr. Markus Hausmann (Durham University, Great Britain, Natural Sciences, Biophysics), Dr. Eglė Mazgelytė (Vilnius University, Medical and Health Sciences, Medicine), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lina Zabulienė (Vilnius University, Medical and Health Sciences, Medicine).
In recent years, interest in the effects of hormonal contraception (HC) has been increasing, not only on physiological processes but also on mental health. Deteriorated mental health can be associated with changes in emotional functioning and is one of the most common reasons for discontinuing HC use.
This dissertation investigates the relationship between HC use and emotional processing. The study included women with a natural menstrual cycle (NC) in either the follicular or luteal phase, as well as women using oral contraceptives (OC) or those with a hormonal intrauterine device (IUD). Data were collected using psychological questionnaires, self-observation, electroencephalography (EEG), and eye-tracking.
The research revealed that HC use was not associated with emotional and psychological indicators assessed through questionnaires (e.g., alexithymia, emotion regulation habits). Evaluation of and response to emotional images did not differ between NC and OC women, indicating that emotional perception and reactivity are similar in these groups. However, EEG analysis showed that participants with an IUD required greater attentional and cognitive control engagement during a cognitive emotion regulation task compared to NC and OC participants. Eye-tracking analysis revealed that OC users spent less time looking at people's faces in neutral and erotic images compared to NC participants.
In summary, women’s hormonal status does not alter overall emotional functioning but does modulate certain elements such as attention and cognitive control.
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| From the left: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ramunė Grikšienė, Ingrida Zelionkaitė |