The Pill may boost women's social skills and memory

London, Aug 18 (ANI): How great would it be if you could just take a pill to get brainier? It seems that's possible now. Scientists have found that the Pill has the potential to increase the grey matter inside your head to make you smarter.

Their study has shown that contraceptive pills enhance the brain's 'conversation hub' and memory in women.

The study found that the contraceptive of choice of 3.5 million British women increases brain size by around 3 per cent.

Scientists, who took high-resolution images of the brain, found that several areas in the brain looked larger for women who took the pill, irrespective of the brand or formulation of the drug, or how long it had been prescribed for.

These areas seemed to be the ones that dealt with social skills and memory.

"The behavioural changes due to contraceptive use are likely to affect those skills that are already better developed in women compared to men like, for example, memory," The Daily Mail quoted Dr Belinda Pletzer, of Salzburg University, as saying.

One theory as to why the pill affects the brain this way is that the oestrogen or progesterone used to stop eggs from being released also strengthens the links between nerve cells in the brain.

The study is published in the journal Brain Research. (ANI)