Sex Differences Cognition

Stages of estrous mediate the stress-induced impairment of associative learning in the female rat

by Martin Paczynski

Shors, T.J., Lewczyk, C., Paczynski, M., Mathew, P.R. and Pickett, J.(1998) NeuroReport 9, 419–423

Exposure to a stressful event facilitates classical eyeblink conditioning in male rats and impairs conditioning in... more Exposure to a stressful event facilitates classical eyeblink conditioning in male rats and impairs conditioning in females. The contribution of stages of estrous to the stress-induced impairment of eyeblink conditioning was evaluated. Females in proestrus, estrus and diestrus were either exposed to an acute stressor of intermittent tailshocks or swim stress and compared to unstressed females in the three stages. Females in proestrus, when estrogen levels are high, acquired the conditioned response at a facilitated rate relative to females in other stages. However, exposure to a stressor of either intermittent tailshocks or inescapable swim stress severely impaired acquisition in females during proestrus. These results suggest that the enhancing effect of estrogen on procedural memory formation is disrupted by previous exposure to a stressful event.

Acute Stress Persistently Enhances Estrogen Levels in the Female Rat

by Martin Paczynski

Shors, T.J., Pickett, J., Wood, G. and Paczynski, M. (1999) Stress. 3(2), 163-171

Here we tested whether exposure to either tailshock or swim stress alters ovarian hormone levels, estrogen and... more Here we tested whether exposure to either tailshock or swim stress alters ovarian hormone levels, estrogen and progesterone, in females and whether the effects are persistent. Adrenal hormone levels were also measured in males and females. Estradiol levels were elevated in unstressed females during proestrus relative to females in other stages of estrous, and exposure to the stressors enhanced estradiol beyond basal levels. For females stressed during diestrus 2, estradiol levels were elevated immediately after stressor cessation and up to 24 hrs. Exposure to tailshock, but not swim-stress, transiently enhanced progesterone in females stressed during the stage of proestrus and estrus. Glucocorticoid levels were elevated in response to both stressors and were supraelevated in females under both basal and stress conditions relative to males, particularly in blood from females exposed to acute swim stress. These results indicate that exposure to a relatively acute stressful event immediately and persistently enhances serum estradiol and are discussed in the context of reports that exposure to the same stressors immediately and persistently impairs associative learning in the female rat.

Neuroticism Combined With Slower and More Variable Reaction Time: Synergistic Risk Factors for 7-Year Cognitive Decline in Females

by Gareth Hagger-Johnson

The typical dreams of Canadian university students (2003)

by Tore Nielsen

Alexithymia and impoverished dream recall in asthmatic patients: evidence from self-report measures (1997)

by Tore Nielsen

Reproductive state affects reliance on public information in sticklebacks

by Mike M Webster

Sexual orientation and spatial position effects on selective forms of object location memory.

by Qazi Rahman

Brain Cogn. 2011 Apr;75(3):217-24.

Sex differences in a human analogue of the Radial Arm Maze: The" 17-Box Maze Test".

by Qazi Rahman

Sex Differences In Theory of Mind: A Male Advantage on Happé'S “cartoon” Task

by Qazi Rahman

Selective sexual orientation-related differences in object location memory.

by Qazi Rahman

Are there sex differences in neuropsychological functions among patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder?

by Qazi Rahman

Sex differences in neurocognitive functioning among abstinent recreational cocaine users

by Qazi Rahman

Men Appear More Lateralized When Noticing Emotion in Male Faces

by Qazi Rahman

Emotion, doi: 10.1037/a0024416