Women are more than twice as likely to suffer from fear and anxiety disorders, including
generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, and posttraumatic stress disorder. One
reason for this difference may be that fluctuating ovarian hormone levels in women
during their reproductive life span alters emotional processing. For example, the
incidence of anxiety symptoms is higher when ovarian hormone levels are low, including
during premenstrual, postpartum, and perimenopausal periods. These women can benefit
from estrogen treatment, suggesting an anxiolytic effect. Despite these striking sex
differences and decades of research investigating the processes involved in controlling
emotion, we know surprisingly little regarding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying
this disproportionate incidence of fear and anxiety disorders.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
September 21,
2011
Received:
September 21,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- Estradiol Modulates Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Amygdala Activity During Fear Extinction in Women and Female RatsBiological PsychiatryVol. 70Issue 10
