PTSD May Affect Boys, Girls Differently, Brain Scans Show

PTSD - American Health Council

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects the brains of girls and boys in different ways, a new study suggests.

Researchers used MRI scans to examine the brains of 59 children, aged 9 to 17. The participants included 30 kids with PTSD and 29 without the disorder (the “control” group).

Girls and boys in the control group had no differences in brain structure, the researchers said. But among those with PTSD, girls and boys showed differences in one part of the insula — an area of the brain involved in emotion and empathy.

This brain area was larger in boys with PTSD than in other boys, and was smaller in girls with PTSD than in the control group girls, according to researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine in California.

Click here to Read the full article: PTSD May Affect Boys, Girls Differently, Brain Scans Show