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Brain activity differs between boys, girls with depression

Recent findings indicated sex-specific differences in brain activity among adolescents with depression.

“Men are more liable to suffer from persistent depression, whereas in women depression tends to be more episodic,” Jie-Yu Chuang, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, said in a press release. “Compared with women, depressed men are also more likely to suffer serious consequences from their depression, such as substance abuse and suicide.”

To assess sex differences in major depressive disorder during adolescence, researchers evaluated 24 male adolescents with depression and 10 without and 82 female adolescents with depression and 24 without. Study participants completed an affective go/no-go task during functional MRI.

Researchers found significant sex differences in the supramarginal gyrus and group-by-sex differences in the supramarginal gyrus and posterior cingulate cortex in response to sad distractors.

Male adolescents with depression exhibited decreased activation in the cerebellum with significant group-by-age association in connectivity, compared with healthy males.

“Our finding suggests that early in adolescence, depression might affect the brain differently between boys and girls,” Chuang said in the release. “Sex-specific treatment and prevention strategies for depression should be considered early in adolescence. Hopefully, these early interventions could alter the disease trajectory before things get worse.” – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: Please see the study for a full list of relevant financial disclosures.