GENDER DIFFERENCES IN REGIONAL CEREBRAL BLOOD-FLOW DURING TRANSIENT SELF-INDUCED SADNESS OR HAPPINESS

Men, compared to women, are less likely to experience mood disorders, We wondered if gender differences exist in the ability to self-induce transient sadness and happiness, and in regional cerebral blood flow ( rCBF) either at rest or during transient emotions, Ten adult men and 1 0 age-matched women, all healthy and never mentally ill, were scanned using (H2O)-O-15 positron emission tomography at vest and during happy , sad, and neutral states self-induced by recalling affect-appropriate life events and looking at happy, sad or neutral human faces. At rest women had decreased temporal and prefrontal cortex rCBF, and increase d brainstem rCBF. There were no significant between-group differences in difficulty, effort required, or the degree of happiness or sadness induced, Women activated a significantly wider portion of their limbic system than did men during transient sadness, despite similar self-re ported changes in mood. These findings may aid in understanding gender differences with respect to emotion and mood. (C) 1996 Society of Bio logical Psychiatry.