Cited by 114Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesStress Responses and CortisolNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Gender differences in neural correlates of stress-induced anxiety

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Seo, Dongju, Ahluwalia, Aneesha, Potenza, Marc N., Sinha, Rajita·2017·Journal of Neuroscience Research

Abstract

Although gender differences have been identified as a crucial factor for understanding stress-related anxiety and associated clinical disorders, the neural mechanisms underlying these differences remain unclear. To explore gender differences in the neural correlates of stress-induced anxiety, the current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain responses in 96 healthy men and women with commensurable levels of trait anxiety as they engaged in a personalized guided imagery paradigm to provoke stress and neutral-relaxing experiences. During the task, a significant gender main effect emerged, with men displaying greater responses in the caudate, cingulate gyrus, midbrain, thalamus, and cerebellum. In contrast, women showed greater responses in the posterior insula, temporal gyrus, and occipital lobe. Additionally, a significant anxiety ratings × gender interaction from whole-brain regression analyses was observed in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, left inferior parietal lobe, left temporal gyrus, occipital gyrus, and cerebellum (P < 0.05, whole-brain family-wise error corrected), with positive associations between activity in these regions and stress-induced anxiety in women, but negative associations in men, indicating that men and women differentially use neural resources when experiencing stress-induced anxiety. The findings suggest that in response to stress, there is a greater use of the medial prefrontal-parietal cortices in experiencing subjective anxiety in women, while decreased use of this circuit was associated with increased subjective anxiety states in men. The current study has implications for understanding gender-specific differences in stress-induced anxiety and vulnerability to stress-related clinical disorders, and for developing more effective treatment strategies tailored to each gender. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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  1. Li CS Kosten TR Sinha R Sex differences in brain activation during stress imagery in abstinent cocaine users: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study Biol Psychiatry 2005b 57 5 487 494 15737663
  2. Seo D Jia Z Lacadie CM Tsou KA Bergquist K Sinha R Sex differences in neural responses to stress and alcohol context cues Hum Brain Mapp 2011b 32 11 1998 2013 21162046 PMC3236497

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Authors
Seo, D., Ahluwalia, A., Potenza, M. N., & Sinha, R.
Affiliations
Yale University (US)
Corresponding author
Sinha, Rajita
Venue
Journal of Neuroscience Research
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2016-11-07
Volume
95
Issue
1-2
Pages
115-125
ISSN
  • 0360-4012 (ISSN-L)
  • 1097-4547
OpenAlex
W2557676479
Cited by
114
References
85
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 1
FWCI
9.96
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (R01-AA013892-10, R01-AA20504-03, UL1-DE19856, PL1-DA024859, K08-AA023545-01, RL1-AA017539)
  • National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASAColumbia)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
gender differences, stress-induced anxiety, neural correlates, trait anxiety, guided imagery, brain activation, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, cerebellum, posterior insula, sex differences in stress response
MeSH terms
Adult, Anxiety, Brain, Brain Mapping, Female, Heart Rate, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Oxygen, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Surveys and Questionnaires, Regression Analysis, Sex Characteristics, Stress, Psychological, Imagery, Psychotherapy, Young Adult

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