# Gender differences in regional brain response to visceral pressure in IBS patients.



## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Eur J Pain 2000;4(2):157-172 Gender differences in regional brain response to visceral  pressure in IBS patients. Berman S, Munakata J, Naliboff BD, Chang L, Mandelkern M, Silverman D, Kovalik E, Mayer EA UCLA/CURE Neuroenteric Disease Program, UCLA Division of Digestive Diseases, Departments of Medicine, Physiology and Psychology, UCLA, and PET Center, Division of Nuclear Medicine, West LA VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90073, USA In two experiments including a total of 30 irritable bowel syndrome patients, symptom-mimicking rectal pressure stimuli elicited changes in regional neural activation as measured by positron electron tomography (PET) cerebral blood flow images. Although most stimuli were not rated as painful, rectal pressure increased regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in areas commonly associated with somatic pain, including the anterior cingulate, insula, prefrontal cortex, thalamus, and cerebellum. Despite similar stimulus ratings in male and female patients, regional activations were much stronger for males. In both experiments, rectal pressure activated the insula bilaterally in males but not in females. Insula activation was associated most strongly with objective visceral pressure, whereas anterior cingulate activation was associated more with correlated ratings of subjective discomfort. The insula is discussed as a visceral sensory cortex. Several possible reasons for the insula gender effect are proposed. Copyright 2000 European Federation of Chapters of the International Association for the Study of Pain.------------------ http://www.ibshealth.com/


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

Thanks for posting this, Eric!







Basically it means we women are tougher than you guys.







JeanG


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## cookies4marilyn (Jun 30, 2000)

Yep, Jean,that's what it means, all right!







------------------"Cookies" alias Marilyn


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## jude_f (Feb 18, 2000)

i would guess it means..consider the fact that.. ".. in the US, women report IBS symptoms and visit doctors for related symptoms 2:1 compared to men (67:33)".. (some foreign countries are reporting a ratio of 1:1)one possibility is that men endure the higher levels of pain and still dont report their IBS symptoms nearly as much as women.. thus making men tougher..


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## Feisty (Aug 14, 2000)

Nope.......Men tougher, I think not. Most men that I know of do not want to think about it, let alone talk about it, so they try to ignore it. Like...."if I don't think about it, it will just go away". Tougher? Nope. "Chicken" is more like it!!! Men are not as "in tune" with their bodies like most women are. They don't listen to their bodies crying out the symptoms. Men need to cut the "I have to be macho" syndrome and be human instead!!!! Listen to what that body of your's is telling you. And I'm not talking sex here, guys!!!


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