Sex differences in cognitive regulation of psychosocial achievement stress: Brain and behavior

Abstract

Although cognitive regulation of emotion has been extensively examined, there is a lack of studies assessing cognitive regulation in stressful achievement situations. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging in 23 females and 20 males to investigate cognitive downregulation of negative, stressful sensations during a frequently used psychosocial stress task. Additionally, subjective responses, cognitive regulation strategies, salivary cortisol, and skin conductance response were assessed. Subjective response supported the experimental manipulation by showing higher anger and negative affect ratings after stress regulation than after the mere exposure to stress. On a neural level, right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and right superior temporal gyrus (STG) were more strongly activated during regulation than nonregulation, whereas the hippocampus was less activated during regulation. Sex differences were evident: after regulation females expressed higher subjective stress ratings than males, and these ratings were associated with right hippocampal activation. In the nonregulation block, females showed greater activation of the left amygdala and the right STG during stress than males while males recruited the putamen more robustly in this condition. Thus, cognitive regulation of stressful achievement situations seems to induce additional stress, to recruit regions implicated in attention integration and working memory and to deactivate memory retrieval. Stress itself is associated with greater activation of limbic as well as attention areas in females than males. Additionally, activation of the memory system during cognitive regulation of stress is associated with greater perceived stress in females. Sex differences in cognitive regulation strategies merit further investigation that can guide sex sensitive interventions for stress-associated disorders.

Assessing anxiety and its correlates in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: The state‐trait anxiety inventory

“…These results supported the sex differences in self‐reported anxious symptoms as observed in general population . Indeed, females seem to be more vulnerable to stress‐ and fear‐based disorders (such as anxiety), although this is still matter of investigation . The weak negative correlation of the bulbar subdomain of the ALSFRS‐R with both state and trait anxiety supported previous evidence suggesting an association between anxious symptoms and impaired speech and swallowing functioning .…”

“…92,93 Indeed, females seem to be more vulnerable to stress-and fear-based disorders (such as anxiety), although this is still matter of investigation. 94,95 The weak negative correlation of the bulbar subdomain of the ALSFRS-R with both state and trait anxiety supported previous evidence suggesting an association between anxious symptoms and impaired speech and swallowing functioning. 20 The present findings could also suggest that patients experience stable and continuous concerns about their health problems when bulbar impairment arises, thus needing special psychological support.…”

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex connectivity during and after psychological stress in women

“…Some review articles have suggested the possibility of sex differences in neural activation in response to emotionally salient cues (Filkowski, Olsen, Duda, Wanger, & Sabatinelli, 2017;Hamann, 2005;Stevens & Hamann, 2012), while others have found no sex differences in the processing of negative events (Garcia-Garcia et al, 2016). Kogler, Gur, and Derntl (2015) examined sex differences in stressor-evoked, neural subjective stress, skin conductance, and cortisol responses in 43 healthy adults. Results indicated women exhibited greater neural and levels of perceived stress compared to men during the stress task, but there were no sex differences in galvanic skin or cortisol responses (Kogler et al, 2015).…”

Sex differences in anxiety disorders: Interactions between fear, stress, and gonadal hormones

“…The data demonstrated that although men were similar to women in the low estrogen phase, the men had significantly higher activation within the hippocampus and ACG, with the greatest effect sizes in the mPFC and OFC, relative to high estrogen women (Goldstein et al, 2010). Moreover, in a psychosocial achievement stress test, women reported feeling more stress than men, which was associated with higher activation in limbic and attention-related brain structures (Kogler et al, 2014). Together, the data in both humans and rats demonstrate sex differences not only in the effects of stress on behavior, but also in the structure and function of the neurocircuitry mediating them.…”

“…This sex bias may be attributed in part to a greater sensitivity to stressful and traumatic life experiences in women. Indeed, numerous studies have examined sex differences in the response to stress and have identified differences in the neural circuits that impact emotional reactivity (Goldstein et al, 2010; Kogler et al, 2014). However, how these mechanisms may be mediating sex differences in anxiety disorders remains unclear.…”