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5.3 - Sex and Sex Hormones

from 5 - Neural Circuits

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 November 2023

By
Glenda Gillies
Edited by
Mary-Ellen Lynall ,
Peter B. Jones  and
Stephen M. Stahl
Mary-Ellen Lynall
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Peter B. Jones
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Stephen M. Stahl
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
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Summary

Sex and gender are of increasing interest and importance in clinical medicine, and psychiatry in particular. A large body of scientific evidence from animal and human studies demonstrates widespread sex differences in neurochemistry, connectivity and structure in virtually all brain regions with consequences for emotional and behavioural regulation [1–3]. We also understand that mental illness is associated with changes in the structure, neurochemistry and function of the brain, which will be superimposed on the innate brain sex differences. These biological differences are thought to contribute to differences between men and women in the prevalence, age at onset, symptomatology, progression, pathology and therapeutic responsiveness manifest in neuropsychiatric, neurological and neurodegenerative disorders [1, 2, 4] (Table 5.3.1). A better understanding of brain sex differences will be critical to advancing our understanding of mental disorders in both sexes, enabling the development of different and improved preventive, diagnostic and treatment approaches that benefit both men and women.

Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Textbook of Neuroscience for Psychiatrists , pp. 146 - 160
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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