The male and
female responses to stress are biologically different.
Not exact matches
Male, but not
female, experimenters induce intense
stress in rodents that can dampen pain
responses, according
to a paper published today in Nature Methods.
Two years after attending that guest lecture, Taylor had formulated a new theory, in the form of an essay published in Psychological Review titled «Behavioral
Responses to Stress in
Females.»
The difference between males and
female biting behaviour in the aggressive strain is possibly due
to their hormonal
responses to stressful situations, as Dr Becerra says: «
Stressed male rats might bite
to protect themselves alone, whereas
female rats might have the natural instinct of biting
to also protect their offspring, so presumably will be fiercer.»
The results indicate that
females are more influenced by environmental cues and
stress in promoting a «craving» - like
response that can drive them
to seek and consume alcohol.
Besides lipotoxicity (see section V.N) many other molecular mechanisms are involved, including mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative
stress, intramyocardial inflammation, involvement of the reninangiotensin system, altered insulin signaling or
female - specific cardiac glycogen handling as a
response to metabolic
stress (308), and sex - hormone related myocardial calcium handling (309).
In
response to 40 % CR,
females became emaciated, ceased cycling, underwent endocrine masculinization, exhibited a heightened
stress response, increased their spontaneous activity, improved their learning and memory, and maintained elevated levels of circulating brain - derived neurotrophic factor.
In males, corticosterone levels were elevated only in
response to the 40 % CR diet, whereas in
females corticosterone levels were significantly elevated in
response to all three energy - restriction diets, suggesting a relative hyperactivation in
females of the adrenal
stress response to reduced energy availability.
Effects of maternal separation on hypothalamic - pituitary - adrenal
responses, cognition and vulnerability
to stress in adult
female rats
Thyroid values can fluctuate in
response to a variety of things: Disease,
stress level, recent trauma, and — in
females — hormone fluctuations.
Males and
females both exhibit «fight or flight» neuroendocrine
responses to stress, but males appear
to be more likely
to engage in fight or flight behaviors.
While family dysfunction may interfere with healthful behavior for both males and
females due
to the families» limited ability
to organize and plan routines related
to these behaviors, the stronger association between family function and weight among
females may be due
to stronger reactivity and
response to stress among
females.
Epidemiologic [58] and laboratory research [59] has also found that
females engage in more disinhibited eating in
response to stress than males, which could lead
to greater weight gain among
females.