Stress is a term of the body’s response to an external stressor and it represents the body’s method of reacting to a challenge. This normally manifests as the fight-or-flight response. In the short term, this helps a person cope with a potentially dangerous situation; in the longer term too much stress affects a person’s mental and physical well-being.
A new study from Stanford University study indicates that the way the body, specifically the brain, copes and processes stress, differs between men and women. Examining teenagers and focusing on a brain region that processes emotions and empathy (the insula), the scientists discovered the insula (one part called the anterior circular sulcus) was particularly small in girls who had suffered trauma; whereas in boys who had undergone trauma the insula was larger than usual.
For the study, the researchers looked at the brains of 59 individuals. The subjects were divided into two groups. With group one, made up of 14 girls and 16 boys, the subjects had suffered at least one episode of severe stress or trauma. With group two, comprised of 15 girls and 14 boys, no recorded stress or trauma had take place.
The insula, or insular cortex, is a portion of the cerebral cortex folded deep within the lateral sulcus. The functions controlled by this brain area include perception, motor control, self-awareness, cognitive functioning and interpersonal experience.
Considering the implications, the researchers speculate that this finding may explain why girls are more likely than boys to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Discussing the implications, the lead researcher, Dr. Megan Klabunde told the BBC: “It is important that people who work with traumatized youth consider the sex differences. Our findings suggest it is possible that boys and girls could exhibit different trauma symptoms and that they might benefit from different approaches to treatment.”
The research is published in the journal Depression and Anxiety, with the study titled “The moderating effects of sex on insula subdivision structure in youth with posttraumatic stress symptoms.”
