Gender and the use of hormonal contraception in women are not associated with cerebral cortical 5-HT 2A receptor binding

Gender influences brain function including serotonergic neurotransmission, which may play a role in the well-known gender variations in vulnerability to mood and anxiety disorders. Even though hormonal replacement therapy in menopause is associated with globally increased cerebral 5-HT_2A receptor binding it is not clear if gender or use of hormonal contraception exhibits associations with 5-HT_2A receptor binding. We found no significant effect of gender on cortical 5-HT_2A receptor binding (P=0.15, n=132). When adjusting for the personality trait neuroticism, known to be positively correlated to frontolimbic 5-HT_2A receptor binding and to be more pronounced in women, again, the effect of gender was not significant (P=0.42, n=127). Also, the use of hormonal contraception (n=14) within the group of pre-menopausal women (total n=29) was not associated with cortical 5-HT_2A receptor binding (P=0.31). In conclusion, neither gender, nor the use of hormonal contraception in premenopausal women was associated with cortical 5-HT_2A receptor binding.