, so it is safe to predict that every form of birth control has the potential to affect the hypothalamus. Progestins do not only bind with the progesterone receptor only, they also bind to androgen, oestrogen, mineral corticoids and glucocorticoid receptors, which are hormones produced by the adrenal gland. If progestins bind to these receptors they can cause different effects depending on whether the progestin activates or blocks the receptor. According to a 2013, if synthetic sex hormones interact with sex hormone receptors in the brain they have the potential to interfere with multiple neural-hormonal regulatory mechanisms and neural structures involved in emotion, cognition and psycho-sexual behaviour. Smaller hypothalamic volume is associated with negative emotional states, including greater anger and depressive states. HBC can potentially alter brain-cell growth. Studies have shown that sex hormones promote the growth of neurons, and since HBC puts you into a phase of hormonal winter, one hypothesis is that synthetic hormones lead to less brain-cell growth.
