study from Stanford University in USA suggests that very stressful events affect brains of boys and girls in different ways. Researchers say that girls suffer more after traumatic events and are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They also say that because of this, girls and boys should be treated differently by doctors during recovery process from PTSD. Lead researcher Dr Megan Klabunde said: "It is important that people who work with traumatised youth consider sex differences. Our findings suggest it is possible that boys and girls could exhibit different trauma symptoms and that they might benefit from different approaches to treatment."
research focused on part of brain that deals with emotions and empathy, called insula. smaller insula, more likely it is that someone will suffer from PTSD. Researchers discovered that insula was particularly small in girls who had gone through traumatic event. It was larger than usual in boys who had experienced distressing, shocking or frightening event. Post-traumatic stress disorder is mental disorder that can develop after traumatic events, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, or threats on person's life. Symptoms may include disturbing or suicidal thoughts, nightmares related to events, and alterations to how person thinks and feels.
