Schizophrenia and neurological soft signs: Gender differences in clinical correlates and antecedent factors

Sex and laterality differences in parkinsonian impairment and transcranial ultrasound in never-treated schizophrenics and their first degree relatives in an Andean population

“…Our findings are consistent with data suggesting that male schizophrenics are more likely than females to experience motor dysfunction if they experience perinatal insults, supporting a greater susceptibility to environmental insults (Lane et al, 1996). Our results also indicate that sexual dimorphism at the level of midbrain may serve as a protective mechanism in the development of parkinsonian motor impairment for females.…”

“…Goldstein has argued previously that gestational risk factors for schizophrenia occurring during the sexual differentiation of the brain will result in sex-specific abnormalities (Seidman et al, 2003). Interestingly, obstetric complications associated with parkinsonism in schizophrenia (Peralta and Cuesta, 2011) may be influenced by sex (Lane et al, 1996). Midbrain dopamine neurons are known to play a role in the development of sexual dimorphism in the brain and have been shown to be particularly susceptible to environmental insults (de Erausquin et al, 2003;Dorsey et al, 2006;Landreau et al, 2012).…”

Gender difference in age at onset of schizophrenia: a meta-analysis

“…It has been demonstrated in previous studies that women have a second peak in incidence of Weiser 2000 Stöber a 1998 Stöber b 1998 Gureje 1998Lane 1996Chaves 1993Murphy 1994Faraone 1994Garwood 1995Kendler 1995Rasanen 1999Murthy 1998Laureillo 1997O'Callaghan 1992Moriarty 2001Folnegovic 1994Usall 2001Guerguerian 1998Dernovsek 1999 McCreadie 1994 Table A1 in the Appendix. WMD, Weighted mean difference ; CI, confidence interval.…”

Region and Sex Differences in Constituent Dopamine Neurons and Immunoreactivity for Intracellular Estrogen and Androgen Receptors in Mesocortical Projections in Rats

“…For example, it is possible that the greater vulnerability of female rats to prefrontal-impairing effects of stress (Shansky et al, 2004; Shansky et al, 2006; Dalla et al, 2008) could reflect stress actions on larger cohorts of afferents and subsequently greater impact on prefrontal DA levels in this sex. That quantitative sex differences in defined types of mesocortical neurons could also result from early, organizational hormone effects, e.g., effects on cell survival, may also be important for developmental disorders like schizophrenia, autism and dyslexia, as it suggests a timeline for gonadal hormone-shaping of potentially functionally critical parameters of the mesocortical DA system that align with prenatal/obstetric complications which are strong predictors of aspects of these disorders including the severity of prefrontal symptoms (Geschwind and Galaburda, 1985; O'Callaghan et al, 1990; Lane et al, 1996; Ohara et al, 2003). At the least, the current findings suggest that full understanding of mesocortical/mesoprefrontal systems and their roles in health and disease will ultimately require knowledge about the sensitivities of their DA and nonDAergic components to both organizational and activational hormone effects and cataloguing of their sex differences.…”