Stress: differences between sexes
Many specialists have begun to wonder why, according to the latest data, the woman practically doubles the risk of stress -related disorders. The most recent investigations advocate not only for a cultural effect, as believed initially, but for the notable differences that exist at the neuronal level between sexes, even on a molecular scale. This has been verified thanks to experiments with rodents, in which chronic stress exerts faster and more intense effects on females than on males.
In order to understand the repercussions of stress on behavior, it is important to attend to the biological origin of why this phenomenon occurs and how. It is worth highlighting the role of the adrenal glands in the cortex, which mainly segregates glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, in addition to sexual steroids – such as estrogen and androgens. The release of these glucocorticoids depend on the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). This in turn is controlled by the hormone of the release of corticotropin or CRH (hormone that responds biochemically to stress). The concentration of glucocorticoids, on the other hand, is regulated and can be enhanced or not through a negative feedback system, in which the hypothalamus role stands out. On the other hand, the hypothalamus, in addition to being sensitive to hormonal levels, integrates information from sensory organs, is sensitive to changes in internal and external environment and presents dysmorphic differences according to sex. Some investigations have also relieved CRH hormone increased in rats hormone cycles and was proven how its activation occurred in brain regions with different patterns depending on sex.
Once this is explained, it is important to focus on the physiological differences that occur in humans and many other species. These differences have a representation in turn at the behavioral level, so it has been stated that sex hormones can play an important role in regulating different aspects of behavior. It has been proposed that the behavioral differences observed between both sexes could be due to the exposure of different sex steroids such as estrogens and androgens during the early stages of development. Recent studies support the difference in the chromosomal torque, added to the hormonal increase in the uterus and puberty that can alter the development of the brain permanently. In addition to the fluctuation of different sex hormones in adulthood that modulate brain function. These theories are closely related to the hypothesis that evolution would have favored the female to be in a state of vigil and attention. This advantage would compensate for the risks of excessive stress sensitivity, such as depression or anxiety vulnerability.
The specialist Georgia and. Hodes exposes the importance in the differences in the Dnmet3a gene that is in the acumbens nucleus, this is expressed more in females than males and vary the synthesis of certain proteins and reading other genes. To determine its role with chronic stress, Hodes eliminated the acumbens nucleus in some mouse females. Without him they became more resistant and responded more similarly to the males. This experiment suggests that females express an increase in the expression of DNmet3a with a brief exposure to stress.
In the same way, research on differences in receptors that respond to CRH is also very important, especially in the Locus Cerúleo, a regional nucleus that regulates the alert level between the support that precedes the sleep and absolute vigil. In the difference between sexes the situation of this hormone is in different places, being in women more prone to a possible overactivation, causing possible insomnia, loss of concentration and unmotivated nervousness. During a stressful event, the CRH floods the locus Cerúleo, where it joins its receptors to keep the animal on a maximum. Normally the receptors are housed on the outer surface of the neurons, waiting for a CRH signal. In male rodents, CRH receptors migrated from the membrane inside the neuron, where they remain deactivated. It is believed that this process protects neurons from an overactivation. In the females instead, they remained in the cell membrane, where they continued to respond to the high levels of Chr. This result suggests that CRH increases more excitation and alertness in females than in males. Although in certain situations it can be adaptive and profitable, the overactivation of the system can also be transformed into hyperexcitation, a destabilizing state that helps to generate insomnia, loss of concentration and nervousness unmotivated in humans, explaining perhaps why women are more proneto certain disorders.
Although there are several well -founded hypotheses, it is still difficult to establish that these differences in the nervous system are related to the differences in behavior of both sexes and currently has not yet been found a clear response about the reasons for these differences even if there is a clear dysmorphic differencewith clear repercussions. On the one hand it is due to a relatively young concern about the subject, added to the need for certain technological advances, but the most important thing was the regulation for all experiments to occur in both sexes, since in the past the researchers used to resortOnly males for comfort. Thanks to the fact that it has been required to experiment with both sexes equally, not only can we move more in science and progress, discovering such important issues as this, but also demonstrated how certain treatments can be more effective and other theoretically valid andestablished could cause the adverse effect on the opposite sex, harming the patient.
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