Estrogen in brain de-stresses women.

• Position: Anxiety - Brief article

The idea that females are more resilient than males in responding to stress is a popular view, and University at Buffalo (N.Y.) researchers have found a scientific explanation: females respond better than males because of the protective effect of estrogen.

"We have examined the molecular mechanism underlying gender-specific effects of stress," says Zhen Yan, professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. "Previous studies have found that females are more resilient to chronic stress and now our research has found the reason why."

The enzyme aromatase, which produces estradiol, an estrogen hormone, in the brain, is responsible for female stress resilience. Aromatase...