A study Stanford University the USA suggests that very stressful events affect the brains boys and girls different ways. Researchers say that girls suffer more traumatic events and are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They also say that because this, girls and boys should be treated differently doctors during the recovery process PTSD. Lead researcher Dr Megan Klabunde said: "It is important that people who work traumatised youth consider the sex differences. Our findings suggest it is possible that boys and girls could exhibit different trauma symptoms and that they might benefit different approaches to treatment."
The research focused a part the brain that deals emotions and empathy, called the insula. The smaller the insula, the more likely it is that someone will suffer PTSD. Researchers discovered that the insula was particularly small girls who had gone a traumatic event. It was larger than usual boys who had experienced a distressing, shocking or frightening event. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental disorder that can develop traumatic events, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, or threats a person's life. Symptoms may include disturbing or suicidal thoughts, nightmares related to the events, and alterations to how a person thinks and feels.
