Importantly, the investigators also found that the gray matter reductions had different patterns in females and males.
‘Bipolar and substance use disorders often develop together in adolescence, and this co-occurrence increases the risk of adverse outcomes such as suicide.’
"Our findings provide further evidence that sex matters in neuroscience research and demonstrate the importance of examining differences between girls and boys, women and men," said co-author Dr. Carolyn Mazure. "We don't know what we don't study. And what we don't know can't be used to help others."
"It is critical to continue to work to understand sex differences in the development of brain pathways to these disorders to improve early detection, treatment, and prevention," Blumberg said.
The study is part of a Journal of Neuroscience Research issue dedicated entirely to sex differences at all levels of the brain, from the genetic and epigenetic level, to the synaptic, cellular, and systems levels.
Source: Eurekalert
