Sex-Related Predisposition to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Development—The Role of Neuropeptides

Małgorzata Lehner, Anna Skórzewska and Aleksandra Wisłowska-Stanek
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Małgorzata Lehner: Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, 9 Sobieskiego Street, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland
Anna Skórzewska: Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, 9 Sobieskiego Street, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland
Aleksandra Wisłowska-Stanek: Centre for Preclinical Research and Technology (CEPT), Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Street, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by re-experiencing a traumatic event, avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions and mood, hyperarousal, and severe functional impairment. Women have a two times higher risk of developing PTSD than men. The neurobiological basis for the sex-specific predisposition to PTSD might be related to differences in the functions of stress-responsive systems due to the interaction between gonadal hormones and stress peptides such as corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), orexin, oxytocin, and neuropeptide Y. Additionally, in phases where estrogens levels are low, the risk of developing or exacerbating PTSD is higher. Most studies have revealed several essential sex differences in CRF function. They include genetic factors, e.g., the CRF promoter contains estrogen response elements. Importantly, sex-related differences are responsible for different predispositions to PTSD and diverse treatment responses. Fear extinction (the process responsible for the effectiveness of behavioral therapy for PTSD) in women during periods of high endogenous estradiol levels (the primary form of estrogens) is reportedly more effective than in periods of low endogenous estradiol. In this review, we present the roles of selected neuropeptides in the sex-related predisposition to PTSD development.

Keywords: PTSD; sex differences; CRF; orexin; oxytocin; neuropeptide Y (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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