Posts Tagged ‘Molecular Psychiatry’
Stress signals work differently in the brains of women and men
The highest rates of anxiety and depression occur among women may have a biological basis, according to an animal study by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, USA, published online here in ‘Molecular Psychiatry.
Specifically, they found that stress signals work differently in the brains of women and men, with women being more sensitive to low levels of a hormone that organizes the stress response in mammals – releasing factor corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF, for its acronym in English) and less able to adapt to higher levels than men.
It is known that women have a higher incidence of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and other anxiety-related problems. However, until now ignored the biological mechanisms underlying that gap with men.
According to the author of this work, Rita J. Valentino, a behavioral neuroscientist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, “this is the first evidence that there is a difference between the sexes in how neurotransmitters and receptor signals exchanged.” Read the rest of this entry »