Browsing by Subject "sex differences"
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Item Gender differences in psychopathology examined under an expanded transactional theory of stress framework(2009-05-15) Lee, Jillian AprilPrevalence rates of many types of psychopathology are lower for men than they are for women, but the causes of these discrepancies are not known. This paper focuses on two such psychopathology groups ? eating disorders and depressive disorders ? and examines gender differences within a transactional theory of stress that takes into account levels of cognitive processing (an expanded transactional theory of stress). Both studies found that men are more physiologically reactive to disorder-relevant, stressful stimuli and stressful events. The study on depression also found that different cognitive processes may be depressogenic for men and women: deployment of attentional resources toward negative stimuli was associated with depression in men, while deployment of attentional resources away from positive stimuli was associated with depression in women. These findings have significant implications for choosing appropriate treatment options for men and women.Item Sex differences in anxiety: testing a prenatal androgen hypothesis using behavioral and physiological markers(Texas A&M University, 2007-09-17) Evardone, MilagrosThe majority of studies examining the role of prenatal androgens on abnormal behavior have focused on developmental disorders showing large male to female ratios (i.e., autism and Tourette's Syndrome). There is a scarcity of research examining the role of prenatal sex hormones on female-linked disorders or disorders showing adult onset. This study is the first to evaluate the organizational and activational influences of sex hormones on adult levels of anxiety, while simultaneously examining previously reported hormone-behavior associations. In addition, this study explores the relation between prenatal and postnatal sex hormones and two other female-linked disorders, depression and borderline personality. As part of this study, participants (n = 110) completed a battery of psychopathology questionnaires, gender role measures, and spatial/cognitive tasks. Prenatal androgen levels were indirectly measured by means of the index to ring finger ratio (2D:4D), and testosterone and estrogen levels were obtained from saliva samples. Results replicate previously reported sex differences in anxiety and gendered behavior and confirm various hormone-behavior associations. More importantly, results provide preliminary evidence for the organizational role of prenatal androgens in two female-linked conditions, anxiety and borderline personality. Individuals with a higher (i.e., more feminine) 2D:4D reported greater symptoms of trait anxiety and borderline personality (i.e., affective instability), and this effect appeared to be strongest in males.Item The effects of psychological stress on an animal model of multiple sclerosis, Theiler's virus induced demyelination(Texas A&M University, 2005-02-17) Sieve, Amy NicoleMultiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common demyelinating condition of the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in paralysis and death. The etiology of MS is unknown. However, genetics, exposure to a pathogen, psychological stress and gender are all implicated in the onset and progression of the disease. An animal model of MS, Theiler?s virus (TMEV) infection, causes a biphasic disease. An early CNS viral infection, if allowed to persist within the CNS, is followed by a chronic CNS autoimmune demyelinating condition that is similar to MS. The development of Theiler?s Virus Induced Demyelination (TVID) is under genetic control: SJL mice are highly susceptible to viral persistence and TVID while CBA mice have an intermediate susceptibility. Chronic restraint stress (RST) administered during the first four weeks of TMEV infection influenced the subsequent development of TVID differentially across strain and sex of mice. TVID was exacerbated by RST in male and female SJL mice, but in the CBA strain, TVID was alleviated by RST in male mice only. This pattern of results in SJL and CBA mice could be seen in the chronic phase of TVID on multiple dependent measures: body weights, behavioral signs of the chronic phase, rotarod performance (an automated measure of motor abilities), and inflammation, demyelination, and axonal loss within the spinal cord. The exacerbation of TVID in SJL mice provides some of the first experimental evidence that coincides with reports of stress precipitating the onset of MS in human patients. The sex dependent alleviation of TVID in CBA mice illustrates the complex interaction between genetic predisposition, gender, stress, and exposure to a pathogen that has been proposed for the development of MS.Item Visual Attention to Reproductively Relevant Stimuli: The Role of Sex-Linked Biological and Social Factors(2012-02-14) Charles, NoraResearch examining interest in stimuli associated with evolved reproductive motivations has demonstrated sex differences in preferences for potential mates and infants, as well as traits and states associated with increased attention to same-sex rivals. Manipulations of reproductive motivations (e.g., mate searching) have also been shown to affect visual attention to these types of stimuli. Most of this work has focused on physical attractiveness in adult targets, which evolutionary theories of mate preferences suggest is less important than social status for women's mate selection, and no research to date has measured patterns of visual attention to infants. Additionally, the stimuli used in past research tend to have low ecological validity and it is not known whether the preferences displayed generalize to the perception of more realistic stimuli. Finally, the potential effects of circulating testosterone on attention to reproductively relevant stimuli have been studied only in very limited ways in men. In the current project, participants self-reported personality traits and characteristics associated with relationships and sexuality, provided samples for analysis of circulating testosterone, were selected to undergo either a jealousy inducing or anxiety-inducing priming task, and were shown low and high ecological validity stimuli displaying reproductively relevant figures. Major findings include more similarity between the sexes than is usually assumed and weaker preferences for potential mates with high mate value in high ecological validity scenes than low ecological validity scenes. Suggestions for future research include applying the theory of strategic pluralism to within-person variability in attention to reproductively relevant stimuli.