EEG study investigating the combined-oral contraceptive pill

The study involves 3 visits to the Clinical Research Centre, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, for an EEG, blood sample, and simple visual psychophysics tests (2 hours each visit, 6 hours total). The visits will be timed according to specific days of a 28-day pill cycle. You will also complete a daily questionnaire of pre-menstrual symptoms for a month.

You will be compensated $60 in vouchers for your time and participation.

If you:

• Are female and aged between 18-35 years old
• Have been taking a typical combined oral contraceptive pill for 3+ months
  • The pill must have a 28-day regimen with 21 active pills and 7 inactive pills
  • The pill cannot be Ginet, Yaz, or Yasmin

and do not:

• Have any previous or current diagnosis of psychiatric and/or neurological illnesses (for example: depression, epilepsy or frequent migraine)
• Current use of any psychotropic medication (such as antidepressants, anxiety medication)
• Current use of any hormonal medication other than the pill
• Suffer from premenstrual dysphoric disorder (severe menstrual cycle-related depression)

you may be eligible, contact Dr Rachael Sumner and Malak Alshakhouri at cocpstudy@gmail.com for more information

This study is funded by the Neurological Foundation.
Approved by the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee on 20/02/2020 for three years. Reference Number 023544