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Are women more prone to stress and depression than men?

New research into mental health focusing on women has discovered that there is a difference in how likely they get diagnosed with depression when compared to men

The study could bring nuanced perspectives in treatments of depression  
The study could bring nuanced perspectives in treatments of depression   (pexels )

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 Despite the fact that there are treatments for depression, many people find these treatments to be ineffective at times. In addition, women are more likely than males to have depression, but the cause for this difference is unknown. This makes treating their disorders more challenging at times.

The findings of the study were published this month in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Also Read: How insulin resistance can lead to depression

University of California, Davis, researchers teamed up with scientists from Mt. Sinai Hospital, Princeton University, and Laval University, Quebec, to try to understand how a specific part of the brain, the nucleus accumbens, is affected during depression. The nucleus accumbens is important for motivation, response to rewarding experiences and social interactions -- all of which are affected by depression.

Previous analyses within the nucleus accumbens showed that different genes were turned on or off in women but not in men diagnosed with depression. These changes could have caused symptoms of depression, or alternatively, the experience of being depressed could have changed the brain. To differentiate between these possibilities, the researchers studied mice that had experienced negative social interactions, which induce stronger depression-related behaviour in females than males.

"These high-throughput analyses are very informative for understanding the long-lasting effects of stress on the brain. In our rodent model, negative social interactions changed gene expression patterns in female mice that mirrored patterns observed in women with depression," said Alexia Williams, a doctoral researcher and recent UC Davis graduate who designed and led these studies. "This is exciting because women are understudied in this field, and this finding allowed me to focus my attention on the relevance of these data for women's health."

The study Comparative transcriptional analyses in the nucleus accumbens identifies RGS2 as a key mediator of depression-related behaviour.

After identifying similar molecular changes in the brains of mice and humans, researchers chose one gene, regulator of g protein signalling-2, or Rgs2, to manipulate. This gene controls the expression of a protein that regulates neurotransmitter receptors that are targeted by antidepressant medications such as Prozac and Zoloft. "In humans, less stable versions of the Rgs2 protein are associated with increased risk of depression, so we were curious to see whether increasing Rgs2 in the nucleus accumbens could reduce depression-related behaviours," said Brian Trainor, UC Davis professor of psychology and senior author on the study. He is also an affiliated faculty member with the Center for Neuroscience and directs the Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Lab at UC Davis.

When the researchers experimentally increased Rgs2 protein in the nucleus accumbens of the mice, they effectively reversed the effects of stress on these female mice, noting that social approach and preferences for preferred foods increased to levels observed in females that did not experience any stress.

"These results highlight a molecular mechanism contributing to the lack of motivation often observed in depressed patients. Reduced function of proteins like Rgs2 may contribute to symptoms that are difficult to treat in those struggling with mental illnesses," Williams said.

Findings from basic science studies such as this one may guide the development of pharmacotherapies to effectively treat individuals suffering from depression, the researchers said.

"Our hope is that by doing studies such as these, which focus on elucidating mechanisms of specific symptoms of complex mental illnesses, we will bring science one step closer to developing new treatments for those in need," said Williams. 

Also Read: Do women's brains change after menopause?

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