Fear-related activity in subgenual anterior cingulate differs between men and women.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging in association with an instructed fear/anticipatory anxiety paradigm was used to explore sex differences in the human fear response. During anticipation of mild electrodermal stimulation, women, as compared with men, demonstrated increased activity in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and functionally related regions of the insula and brainstem. The subgenual anterior cingulate cortex is a region critical for emotional control implicated in the pathogenesis of psychiatric disease. Present findings suggest a contributory neural substrate for the greater susceptibility of women to anxiety and affective disorders, and emphasize the importance of considering participant sex when designing and interpreting functional neuroimaging studies.
Butler
Tracy
T
Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA. tab2006@med.cornell.edu
Pan
Hong
H
Epstein
Jane
J
Protopopescu
Xenia
X
Tuescher
Oliver
O
Goldstein
Martin
M
Cloitre
Marylene
M
Yang
Yihong
Y
Phelps
Elizabeth
E
Gorman
Jack
J
Ledoux
Joseph
J
Stern
Emily
E
Silbersweig
David
D
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D000077463:Carbamide Peroxide; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010545:Peroxides / Q000097:blood; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation / Q000528:radiation effects; D014508:Urea / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood
D004338:Drug Combinations; D010545:Peroxides; D000077463:Carbamide Peroxide; D014508:Urea