anxious girls

Anxious girls’ brains work harder

This electrode cap was worn by participants in an MSU experiment that measured how people responded to mistakes. Female subjects who identified themselves as big worriers recorded the highest brain activity. Photo by G.L. Kohuth

In a discovery that could help in the identification and treatment of anxiety disorders, Michigan State University scientists say the brains of anxious girls work much harder than those of boys.

 
The finding stems from an experiment in which college students performed a relatively simple task while their brain activity was measured by an electrode cap. Only girls who identified themselves as particularly anxious or big worriers recorded high brain activity when they made mistakes during the task.

Jason Moser, lead investigator on the project, said the findings may ultimately help mental health professionals determine which girls may be prone to anxiety problems such as obsessive compulsive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder.

“This may help predict the development of anxiety issues later in life for girls,” said Moser, assistant professor of psychology. “It’s one more piece of the puzzle for us to figure out why women in general have more anxiety disorders.”

The study, reported in the International Journal of Psychophysiology, is the first to measure the correlation between worrying and error-related brain responses in the sexes using a scientifically viable sample (79 female students, 70 males). [continue reading…]