鈥楬ormones鈥� can be a loaded word. For many, it stirs up cringeworthy memories of awkward teenage years. However, for Cold Spring Harbor Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Associate Professor Jessica Tollkuhn, it鈥檚 not just about the birds and the bees. Hormones affect mood, behavior, and health throughout our lives. In our latest installment of Cocktails & Chromosomes, Tollkuhn discusses how those effects differ between men and women at specific times. But perhaps more fascinating is how those differences seem to line up with the incidence of certain mental health conditions.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of sex differences in psychiatric or neurological conditions that relate to changes in hormones at different life stages,鈥� Tollkuhn explains. 鈥淏oys experience surges in testosterone early in life. Neurodevelopmental disorders are more common in boys鈥攁utism, ADHD, dyslexia, language delays. Mood and anxiety disorders are more common in women and girls. This sex difference emerges around puberty. There are twice as many women as men with Alzheimer鈥檚. And women are more susceptible after menopause. Finally, there are sex differences in the onset of schizophrenia, in response to treatment, and the kind of symptoms that people display.鈥� Press play to watch Tollkuhn break down all this and more.
Want to catch some more mind-bending neuroscience live and in person? Come to Industry Lounge in Huntington, NY, on April 24 at 7 p.m. for our next Cocktails & Chromosomes event. CSHL postdoc Ari Benjamin will talk about the increasing similarities and crucial differences between artificial intelligence and the living mind. Register now to attend.