Women prone to anxiety disorders

ACCORDING to the results of a vast study just published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, brain and psychiatric disorders present differently in men and women.

Imaging systems that can distinguish genderbased differences in brain function may soon play an important role in the development of new treatments.

To better understand the causes of mental disorders in diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and develop newer, more targeted treatments, American researchers at the Amen Clinics, in Newport Beach, California, analysed the functioning of 128 regions of men’s and women’s brains.

The researchers used a high-precision scintigraphic system, SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) imaging, which produces images and 3D models of organs and their metabolism, to identify hypoactive and hyperactive zones in the subjects’ brains.

The results of the study indicate that healthy women’s brains are more active in many more areas than healthy men’s brains.

Among women suffering from mental disorders, cerebral activity was particularly dense on the level of the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain that is linked to concentration, the control of emotions and the limbic system, which is closely associated with anxiety and mood.

This implied women are more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s, depression (a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s), and anxiety disorders.

Among men, the region responsible for vision in the occipital lobe, and the region responsible for coordination in the temporal lobe, which is also linked to a wide range of cognitive functions (hearing, language, memory and object recognition), were more active than they were among women.

This indicated men were more likely to suffer from attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, as well as behavioural problems.

These findings may partially explain why women often demonstrate greater aptitude for empathy, intuition, collaboration, self-control, and appropriate concern, and also why they are more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, insomnia and eating disorders.

Taking into account these gender-based brain differences could pave the way for innovative research, notably in the field of Alzheimer’s disease, concludes the study. – AFPRelaxnews