New Research Explains Why Women Are More Sensitive To Stress

New Research Explains Why Women Are More Sensitive To Stress

New research highlights gender differences in brain connectivity between two important regions dealing with stress and learning that may explain why women are typically more sensitive to stress than men.

The research done at Rutgers University in New Jersey and published in the Journal of Neuroscience used male and female rats to study a gender difference in the connections between two important regions of the brain, the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.

The amygdala is located in the brainstem region and senses stressful situations, while the prefrontal cortex located in the front region of the brain is used for higher cognitive functions. However in humans it is known that the two parts of the brain are connected and communicate with each other in a manner thought to influence learning during or after stressful situations.

In the research study the rats were exposed to stress, and then stimulated the rats to blink their eyelids by brushing their eyelashes. By repeating the procedure over several weeks the researchers trained the rats to blink each time after they experienced the stress, which in this case was a loud tone played in their cage.

But there was a catch, after the stimulus to blink was taken away and the loud tone was played males would blink, but the females would not. This indicated to the researchers that somehow the males had learned the pattern but the females had not. This type of research has kept scientist on edge for years about how there could be a gender difference in learning these associations and what the cause was.

The Rutgers researchers led by Dr. Tracy Shors then disrupted the connections between the two regions of interest, the amygdala and prefrontal cortex to see if the females were able to learn the association this time. The researchers were in for quite a surprise because the females now learned the association and males "forgot" it!

The data suggests, say Shors that this research exhibits that there are very real differences in the way the brain is connected for males and females. These differences manifest themselves in different learning patterns and response to stress. Finally, according to Shors, information such as gender differences should be included in learning styles, and treatments for various learning disabilities.

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