Stress responses in the brain ‘differ between boys and girls’

A new study has revealed that the brains of boys and girls respond differently to incidents of traumatic stress.

The Stanford University research conducted MRI scans of the brains of 59 study participants aged nine to 17, of whom 30 had trauma symptoms, while the remainder did not. All of the subjects were of a similar age and IQ.

Structural differences between male and female patients were observed in one part of the insula – a brain region that detects cues from the body and processes emotions and empathy – in response to post-traumatic stress.

The insula helps to integrate a person's feelings, actions and several other brain functions. In adolescent girls who had experienced trauma, this part of the brain underwent accelerated maturation, with no corresponding effect seen in boys.

This finding could explain why some studies have shown that high levels of stress could contribute to early puberty in girls, as well as underlining the need for gender-specific treatment approaches for stress in children.

The study's senior author Dr Victor Carrion, professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford, said: "The difference we saw between the brains of boys and girls who have experienced psychological trauma is important because it may help explain differences in trauma symptoms between sexes."

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