Hormonal mechanisms of women’s risk in the face of traumatic stress
Abstract
Women are underrepresented in biomedical research, limiting understanding of their disproportionate rates of stress-related disorders. Although men experience more trauma, women are twice as likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We tested whether ovarian hormones contribute to this disparity via their influence on threat-related brain activity. In a randomized, double-blind crossover study of 110 young women, we examined how exogenous estradiol (E2) modulates threat neurocircuitry, timed precisely to ovarian phase. E2 increased engagement of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and, in the early luteal phase, reduced central and corticomedial amygdala reactivity to threat in women with little trauma history, but not those with PTSD. Fluctuations in E2 therefore modulate neural responses to threat, and sensitivity to these fluctuations may underlie women’s heightened vulnerability to stress-related disorders.
Article Details
Journal Info
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
Authors (25)
Jennifer S. Stevens
Madeline Davis
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Cecilia A. Hinojosa
Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico
Rebecca Hinrichs
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Alyssa R. Roeckner
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Katelyn I. Oliver
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Linzie Taylor
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Justin L. C. Santos
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Helena Zeleke
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Esther Lin
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Kristina Dahlgren
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Timothy D. Ely
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Amy R. Murphy
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Colin Johnson
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Dasani DelRosario
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Natalie Merrill
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Xing Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry
Kelly F. Ethun
Biomarkers Core, Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University
Marisa Young
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine
Andrea Braden
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine
Nicole R. Nugent
Abigail Powers
Sanne J. H. van Rooij
Kim Wallen
Department of Psychology, Emory College
Vasiliki Michopoulos