Researchers at Michigan State University have found that brains of anxious girls work significantly harder than brains of boys when put in stressful situations. The study is published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology.
The researchers enrolled 79 female students and 70 male students to participate in the study in order to measure the correlation between worrying and error-related brain responses. Study participants were asked to figure out the middle letter in a group of five letters while their brain activity was measured by an electrode cap. Sometimes the middle letter was the same (“FFFFF”) and sometimes it differed (“EEFEE”). The researchers then asked participants to complete a survey about how much they worry.
The team found even though the scores for both stressed females and males were about the same, the brains of females had to work harder. Female participants who identified themselves as big worriers tended to have high levels of brain activity when they made mistakes. The team also found that as the test became more challenging, anxious females performed worse on the test, indicating that their anxiety affected their ability of completing the task.
Jason Moser, lead researcher of the study and assistant professor of psychology, explained:
“Anxious girls’ brains have to work harder to perform tasks because they have distracting thoughts and worries. As a result their brains are being kind of burned out by thinking so much, which might set them up for difficulties in school. We already know that anxious kids – and especially anxious girls – have a harder time in some academic subjects such as math.”
According to Moser, these findings may help mental health professionals determine which girls may be prone to anxiety problems, such as obsessive compulsive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder.
Moser said: “This may help predict the development of anxiety issues later in life for girls. It’s one more piece of the puzzle for us to figure out why women in general have more anxiety disorders.”
The team are currently investigating whether estrogen is accountable for the increased brain response. Estrogen, a hormone more common in women, is know to affect the release of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is essential for learning and processing mistakes in the front region of the brain.
Moser explained: “This may end up reflecting hormone differences between men and women.”
Although there are treatments for anxiety, another way reduce worry and improve focus is “writing you worries down in a journal rather than letting them stick in your head,” and doing “brain games” designed to improve memory and concentration.
The study was co-authored by Tim P. Moran, a graduate student in MSU’s Department of Psychology, and MSU alum Danielle Taylor.
Written By Grace Rattue