Abstract
Although women and men differ in psychological and endocrine stress responses as well as in the prevalence rates of stress-related disorders, knowledge on sex differences regarding stress regulation in the brain is scarce. Therefore, we performed an in-depth analysis of data from 67 healthy participants (31 women, taking oral contraceptives), who were exposed to the ScanSTRESS paradigm in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Changes in cortisol, affect, heart rate and neural activation in response to psychosocial stress were examined in women and men as well as potential sex-specific interactions between stress response domains. Stress exposure led to significant cortisol increases, with men exhibiting higher levels than women. Depending on sex, cortisol elevations were differently associated with stress-related responses in striato-limbic structures: higher increases were associated with activations in men but with deactivations in women. Regarding affect or heart rate responses, no sex differences emerged. Although women and men differ in their overall stress reactivity, our findings do not support the idea of distinct neural networks as the base of this difference. Instead, we found differential stress reactions for women and men in identical structures. We propose considering quantitative predictors such as sex-specific cortisol increases when exploring neural response differences of women and men.
Highlights
On average, women and men show various differences in variables related to the central nervous system (CNS), including neuroanatomical, autonomic, and psychological variables; consistently, a sex-specific genetic architecture was found for several CNS-related phenotypes (David et al, 2018; McCarthy et al, 2017)
The first five EPI volumes were discarded to allow for T1 equilibration. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data processing was carried out using FEAT version 6.0
Results of calculated post hoc t-tests regarding each time point and cortisol increases are shown in Supplemental Results Table B.1
Summary
Women and men show various differences in variables related to the central nervous system (CNS), including neuroanatomical, autonomic, and psychological variables; consistently, a sex-specific genetic architecture was found for several CNS-related phenotypes (David et al, 2018; McCarthy et al, 2017). With the advent of human brainimaging techniques, sex differences in the brain were found, covering – among others – anatomical variables, connectivity measures, as well as neural correlates in affect and cognitive functions (Cahill, 2006; Choleris et al, 2018; Grabowska, 2017; Ingalhalikar et al, 2014a; Ritchie et al, 2018). These findings are paralleled by clear sex differences in prevalence rates for stress-related mental disorders (Bangasser & Valentino, 2014; Kudielka & Kirschbaum, 2005). This leads to the plausible and relevant question, to what extent sex differences in stress regulation and stress-related psychopathology can be attributed to differences between women and men in the brain’s response to stress
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
