Stressor-Specific Sex Differences in Amygdala–Frontal Cortex Networks

Journal of Clinical Medicine, vol. 12, pp. 865

Abstract

Females and males differ in stress reactivity, coping, and the prevalence rates of stress-related disorders. According to a neurocognitive framework of stress coping, the functional connectivity between the amygdala and frontal regions (including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC), and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)) plays a key role in how people deal with stress. In the current study, we investigated the effects of sex and stressor type in a within-subject counterbalanced design on the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the amygdala and these frontal regions in 77 healthy participants (40 females). Both stressor types led to changes in subjective ratings, with decreasing positive affect and increasing negative affect and anger. Females showed higher amygdala-vACC and amygdala-mPFC rsFC for social exclusion than for achievement stress, and compared to males. Whereas a higher amygdala-vACC rsFC indicates the activation of emotion processing and coping, a higher amygdala-mPFC rsFC indicates feelings of reward and social gain, highlighting the positive effects of social affiliation. Thus, for females, feeling socially affiliated might be more fundamental than for males. Our data indicate interactions of sex and stressor in amygdala-frontal coupling, which translationally contributes to a better understanding of the sex differences in prevalence rates and stress coping.

Authors 9

1. Zoé Bürger corresponding

   University of Tübingen

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Centre for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical Faculty, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany

2. Veronika I. Müller

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM-7, Research Centre Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

   Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany

3. Felix Hoffstaedter

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM-7, Research Centre Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

   Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany

4. Ute Habel Aachen Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics

   Jülich Aachen Research Alliance · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   JARA BRAIN Institute I, Translational Brain Medicine, 52428 Jülich, Germany

5. Ruben C. Gur

   University of Pennsylvania

   Affiliation as printed

   Neuropsychiatry Division, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

6. Christian Windischberger

   Medical University of Vienna

   Affiliation as printed

   Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

   High-Field MR Center, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

7. Ewald Moser

   Medical University of Vienna

   Affiliation as printed

   Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

   High-Field MR Center, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

8. Birgit Derntl

   University of Tübingen

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Centre for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical Faculty, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany

   LEAD Graduate School and Research Network, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany

9. Lydia Kogler corresponding

   University of Tübingen

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Centre for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical Faculty, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany