Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures are predominantly seen in women: potential neurobiological reasons

Neurological Sciences : Official Journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology
Ali A Asadi-Pooya

Abstract

There is a predominance of female gender among patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES). Reasons for this preponderance are not entirely explained in the literature yet. The evidence shows that there exist sex-dependent intrinsic functional connectivity differences in brain areas responsible for emotional and cognitive processing. As a consequence, women and men may differ in vulnerability to physical or emotional trauma. An abnormal connectivity between brain areas involved in emotional processing, cognitive integration systems, motor and premotor regions and/or other related regions may explain the ictal events seen in patients with PNES. The intrinsic brain connectivity differences between men and women may be one reason for the predominance of female gender among patients with PNES. In addition, some early life experiences associated with PNES (e.g., childhood sexual abuse) are more prevalent among female gender. These lifetime experiences affect and alter brain connectivity in women differently compared with men and more often predispose female gender to psychopathology. These neurobiological, social and vulnerability differences may explain why PNES is predominantly seen in female gender.

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Citations

Jan 18, 2017·Neurological Sciences : Official Journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology·Ilaria Di Donato, Antonio Federico
Nov 5, 2017·Neurological Sciences : Official Journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology·Marta Licata
Mar 5, 2020·Neurological Sciences : Official Journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology·Ali A Asadi-Pooya, Maryam Homayoun
Dec 14, 2019·Neurological Sciences : Official Journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology·José Fidel Baizabal-CarvalloJoseph Jankovic
Mar 10, 2017·Neurological Sciences : Official Journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology·Ali A Asadi-Pooya
Apr 15, 2019·Neurological Sciences : Official Journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology·Ali A Asadi-Pooya, Zahra Bahrami
Dec 25, 2019·Seizure : the Journal of the British Epilepsy Association·Ali A Asadi-Pooya, Maryam Homayoun
Feb 12, 2021·Frontiers in Pediatrics·Li-Ping ZhangYu-Ping Wang
Oct 16, 2020·Current Psychiatry Reports·Randi LibbonSusan Mikulich
Jun 14, 2021·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Ali A Asadi-PooyaGaston Baslet
Sep 6, 2021·Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova·G V KustovA B Guekht
Jul 15, 2020·Seizure : the Journal of the British Epilepsy Association·Rohit GuptaAchal Kumar Srivastava
Nov 17, 2021·The Neurodiagnostic Journal·Roohi KatyalTammam Dayyoub

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