Grant: Catalyst Grant: Sex as a Variable in Biomedical Research

Anxiety disorders are one of the most widespread mental health disorders and affect significantly more women than men. They are associated with tension, sleep loss, irritability and unnecessary fear. Unfortunately, the causes of anxiety disorders, particularly the sex differences in vulnerability, are still poorly understood. Many types of anxiety have in common an increased tendency for environmental cues to trigger fearful behaviors. These cues are more likely to remind people of a previously traumatic experience, leading them to frequently become anxious and fearful about subsequent encounters. One approach for studying and potentially treating anxiety disorders therefore involves memory. The hope is that if memories can be made more specific and detailed then they can be more effectively compared the current situation. This could reduce the fear of situations that may partially resemble a previous bad experience, but are still different enough that they should not be feared. One of the most exciting recent discoveries in neuroscience is the ongoing production of new neurons throughout adult life. Thousands of new neurons are added each day to the human hippocampus, a structure involved in memory formation. Animal models have shown that these newborn neurons are particularly important for highly detailed memory formation. This suggests that they may be important for minimizing the generalized fear that is observed in anxiety disorders. However, a major limitation of these studies is the near complete absence of female subjects. Since women are more likely to suffer from anxiety disorders, the goal of this research is to identify the cellular and behavioral functions of newborn neurons in females as compared to males. These findings will speak to the mechanisms by which memory circuits might be targeted for treating anxiety disorders, and they will hopefully open the door to studies of neurogenesis function in females in addition to males.