Fear memories form differently in male and female brains, study finds

Article excerpt

Women develop PTSD at twice the rate of men, and a Virginia Tech study reveals a potential biological reason: female brains encode fear memories through a distinct molecular pathway absent in males. Researchers led by neurobiology associate professor Timothy Jarome discovered that this difference in how the sexes process traumatic experiences could explain the gender gap in PTSD prevalence. The finding suggests future treatments may need sex-specific approaches to effectively address trauma-related disorders.