Traumatic Stress Alters Brains of Boys and Girls Differently

Traumatic stress affects the brains of boys and girls in a different manner based on a new brain-scanning examination from researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The study discovered structural differences between the sexes in a certain part of the insula, a region in the brain that identifies hints from the body and goes on to process empathy and emotions among adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD).

Some of the important functions of the insula include integrating a person's feelings, actions and many other functions related to the brain. This is the first study that points out the differences between male and female PTSD patients. Victor Carrion, senior author of the study, said that the insula is the key factor that is responsible for the development of PTSD.

The difference between the brains of both the genders who have suffered from psychological trauma is crucial since it can assist in explaining the differences in the symptoms of trauma between the sexes, he added.

Young people who have become a victim of traumatic stress may develop PTSD symptoms while others do not. These patients may experience memories of past traumatic events and avoid people, places, and objects that tend to refresh their memory of the trauma. They may suffer from many other problems like difficulty in concentrating or sleeping and social withdrawal tendency.

Research done in the past has indicated that girls experiencing from trauma have a greater possibility of developing PTSD compared to their male counterparts; however, scientists have been unable to explain the reason behind this.

The team conducted MRI scans of the brains of 59 youths aged 9 to 17. Out of these 16 boys and 14 girls  had shown traumatic symptoms while the control group that consisted of 14 boys and 15 girls had not. All participants had similar IQs and were more or less of the same age. Five participants from the traumatized group had experienced a single episode of trauma and 25 had experienced at least two episodes or had been a victim of chronic trauma.

There was no difference between the structure of the brain among both the sexes in the control group. However, there were some notable differences in a part of the insula among the traumatized girls and boys. Also, the surface area and volume of the affected brain region were high among traumatized boys compared to the girls.