title: Gender differences in the processing of standardized emotional visual stimuli in humans: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.
abstract: Pictures from the International Affective Picture System were used in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study to assess gender differences in brain activation in ten male and ten female volunteers. The affectively positive, negative and neutral pictures were presented for 750 ms in a single event design and were carefully matched for arousal, valence and stimulus content. Men and women showed no significant difference in valence, arousal, skin conductance response and startle modulation. Only in men was amygdala activation observed in the pleasant condition. Furthermore, men showed a stronger brain activity for positive visual stimuli than women in the frontal lobe (inferior and medial frontal gyrus). In women, stronger brain activation for affectively negative pictures was observed in the anterior and medial cingulate gyrus. These results indicate that it is crucial to take gender differences into account when emotional paradigms are used in functional brain imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Charité-University Medicine Berlin, Campus Charité Mitte, Schumannstrasse 20/21, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wrase
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Sabine M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Gruesser
authors.forename: Derik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hermann
authors.forename: Herta
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Flor
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.forename: Dieter F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Braus
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heinz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*