Traumatic Stress Changes Brains of Boys and Girls Differently
http://neurosciencenews.com/gender-ptsd-emotion-5484/
A Stanford study shows a certain region in the brain that assists in emotion matures faster in females with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than it does in males with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The part of the brain that differs between males and females is the insula. The insula plays a role in ones feelings and emotions, especially when dealing with PTSD. Not everyone who experiences traumatic events develop PTSD but prior research shows that females are more likely to develop PTSD than males.
Their study contained 59 participants ages 9-17. The experiment group had trauma symptoms while the control group did not. Each of the groups contained both males and females which no matter what group, they were all similar in ages and IQ's. While there were little to no differences in the structure of the brains in the control group, the traumatized males and females had shown differences in the insula. A certain portion of the insula called the anterior circular sulcus had shown a larger region in traumatized boys than the boys in the control group. The unique finding was that it was the total opposite for females than it was males. Females with a traumatic experience had shown a smaller region of the anterior circular sulcus than the females within the control group.
This study and these findings are important because with having differences between males and females, their trauma symptoms can differ also. Not only can the symptoms differ but when considering treatment and evaluation, psychologist must keep in mind there are differences between males and females. This research connects personally to my life considering the line of work I want to go into. This information will be helpful to keep in mind for the future and also furthering my knowledge about the subject. This study can connect to the material in our class pertaining brain studies and which portion of the brain may effect emotions in different life situations.
I found this article really interesting. I thought it was fascinating that females showed smaller regions in the anterior sulcus when traumatized, but boys had a much larger region when traumatized. I think that finding out the reason behind this phenomena would benefit future research in gender differences and how the different genders require different means of therapy or assistance with traumatic experiences.
ReplyDeleteI also found this interesting, I wonder since boys grow up differently than girls with respect to how boys and girls play differently has something to do with this. Boys play rougher than girls so when PTSD is involved maybe boys experience is a bit more familiar than girls I hope this makes sense. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThis article was extremely interesting to me as I am studying anxiety disorders in an occupational therapy class involved in mental health. According to this article, the circular sulcus, a part of the brain that integrates emotion, is smaller in girls who have experienced trauma. This article states that a typically developing insula would grow in volume during adolescence. One of the most interesting facts about this disorder is that individuals as young as 6 years old are eligible for a diagnosis of PTSD. Therefore, brain development will affect puberty and the emotional development of these individuals who have experienced trauma at a young age. This is especially noticed in girls, which will effect sex-specific treatment. In occupational therapy, treatment would include graduated exposure therapy, and education on coping. Understanding the differences between the brain development and how this effects the emotional processing in boys and girls will be important to consider during future therapy sessions.
ReplyDeleteI found this study very interesting because of the results. The experimenters went into it hoping to find any type of change in the brain. What they found was much more interesting. They found that trauma causes the anterior circular sulcus to become larger in males while trauma causes the region to shrink in females. This discovery further supports that men and women are different and treatment needs to cater to each. It also supports just how complex biology is and leads me to wonder just how many more differences we still need to discover.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested in seeing how this translates into development of PTSD in adulthood. I wonder if the anterior circular sulcus is also affected differently between females and males after surviving a trauma.
ReplyDeleteIt might also be worth distinguishing between types of traumatic events and if there are any differences among brain structures in those individuals.
I found it to be really interesting that traumatized males had shown larger differences in the insula when matched to the females in the study. As we have learned in class and as you stated, the insula receives all feedback from organs, which is where our sense of right and wrong stem from as well as emotion. These findings are not what I would have expected. Especially knowing that, PTSD is brought on by life-altering events. Like car accidents, military combat, sex assault, or physical assault, etc. Females tend to be further exposed to some of these events compared to males. They are also, already predisposed to depression when equated to men because of puberty, hormones, genetics, and environmental factors.
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