Hey hey,
I wanna tell you a story connected to the lives of women.
Sssoooo, earlier this year,
I was invited to the INTEGHRAL Hub in Kampala by my two friends, Professor Monica Swahn and Kato Charles Chandia.
It was for a “meet-and-learn” interaction with a team of Professors who are working on a very interesting project here, that includes the impact of stress on the female brain!
Photo credit: LinkedIn
That was where I met and interacted with Professor Ebony Glover.
She was one of the Professors that had come to Uganda for their work on the project.
She shared with her presentation titled, “Using Translational Models of Fear Conditioning to Uncover Sex-Linked Factors Related to PTSD Risk”.
Photo credit: LinkedIn
A simple study was done in the United States in 1994 on the “lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders”.
These disorders included panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, and PTSD.
The results for each of these disorders tested and observed showed double digits in women, for their lifetime prevalence and suffering.
Photo credit: CNN
When it comes to the number of presentations made on the female and male brains respectively on learning and memory, fear conditioning as well as fear extinction…it all goes down hill from there.
- When it comes to learning and memory, there is over 12,000 known publications on the male brain and only 192 known publications for the female brain!
- When it comes to fear conditioning, there are over 4,200 known publications on the male brain and 76 known publications on the female brain!
- When it comes to fear extinction, there are over 1,200 known publications on the male brain and only 22 known publications on the female brain!
Professor Ebony says that there are substantial structural, cellular, and molecular differences between the male and female brain.
Furthermore, symptoms of anxiety typically occur after the onset of puberty and during periods of estrogen fluctuations.
Women are more anxious during premenstrual, postpartum, and perimenopausal periods!
Photo credit: LinkedIn
Do you see all those figures I shared above, from those studies?
They indicate one thing:
Serious understudy of the female brain and total reliance on the male brain as the metric for learning about the brain.
We need to seriously do something about this mishap!
I need more information about this development
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I didn’t know the number of studies was so different! I knew about the specific points in a female’s life where we are more likely to have anxiety/depression, though. It would be interesting to learn more about the female brain and why we operate so differently from men.
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It’s troublesome to me – but NOT surprising – to see that so many more studies on the brain focus on the male brain than the female brain.
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Looks like the female brain needs more study. I think it’s time these studies were done.
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This is a really great and very informative post! It’s great to know more about the female brain
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It’s time to focus more on studying the female brain. It’s important to learn and understand the many differences.
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Why is the female brain so widely UNDERstudied compared to that of the male brain I wonder? Well, in fact, I don’t need ot wonder. I know exactly why. Yet the female brain works vastly differently, as do their hormonal systems.
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It is an interesting read. My last two years were soooooo stressful, so I`m curious what my numbers are!
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It’s crazy to me that they wouldn’t be studying women’s brains as much as men’s. How are they going to get an accurate representation of the brain across the population?
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It’s really unfortunate that we live in a world where women are still marginalized, even in research. Ridiculous.
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Thank you for bringing this critical issue to light. The significant disparity between the number of publications on male and female brains is alarming. We need to conduct more studies on the female brain to ensure that women’s experiences and needs are considered in scientific research and healthcare.
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Thanks for sharing the experience and also some insight about the issue at hand. The study of the brain can help us definitely understand better how humans operate and which areas are imminent for us to focus on.
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It’s awesome to see someone tackling the complexities women face. Keep up the great work, looking forward to more!
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Crazy that the number of studies for females are so much lower. I didn’t know that! Thanks for putting this post together and sharing it.
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That’s alarming that so few studies have been done on females. That needs to change to be more proportionate
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Thank you for highlighting the need to learn more about the female brain. It’s an important priority that needs to take place sooner rather than later.
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Absolutely fascinating read! It’s incredible to explore the complexities of the female brain and how it shapes our lives. Thanks for sharing these insights!
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I didnt know there were so many different studies. Also, additionally, this was an ulifting post. I would love to know more about it.
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This is interesting and never knew about these studies. Honestly, it’s interesting to know the differences and things about male and female brains.
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Having never heard of these studies before, I find this very interesting. Thank you so much for sharing
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This is really eye opening, I can’t believe how much the female brain is so understudied, it’s troubling for sure x
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These are fascinating studies. It is great to hear that these projects are being carried out. Very interesting!
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