Mapping reveals reactions differ in male and female brains during cardiovascular activity

UCLAPaul MaceyA region of the brain that helps to manage body functions including stress, heart rate and blood pressure reacts differently between men and women when presented with certain stimuli, according to a new study from the UCLA School of Nursing.The findings suggest that cardiovascular diseases also may manifest differently in women and men, which ultimately could affect how they should be diagnosed and treated.The study, led by Paul Macey, associate professor of nursing, ispublished in  the journal Biology of Sex Differences. In the study, functional MRI, or fMRI, scans were done on volunteers while they performed hand-grip exercises, which raise blood pressure and heart rate through signals from the brain. Used primarily in research, an fMRI uses magnetic resonance imaging tech nology to measure brain activity by detecting changes in the blood flow.The researchers found that the portion of a brain region called the insular cortex (which is made up of gyri, or folds) showed differences in activity between men and women. In women, the right side of the front insular gyrus was activated by the hand-grip exercise more than men, who instead had a greater left-side activation of the same region. Women showed a higher resting heart rate than did males, but didn ’t have as great a heart rate increase when challenged with the hand-grip exercise.The hand-grip testing was a follow-on study to earlier published research by Macey and his colleagues of the same brain region ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news