Journal Top Ten, Columns-Drugs & Supplements, December 2004

1 ARTICLE: 'Males and females respond differently to controllability and antidepressant treatment'

SUMMARY: Women are much more likely to suffer from stress-related mental illness than men; yet few, if any, animal models for such sex differences exist. The authors tested whether these opposite effects in males versus females could be prevented by establishing control over the stressor or by antidepressant treatment. Establishing control over the stressful experience eliminated the detrimental effect of stress on learning in females as well as the enhancing effect of stress in males. Moreover, chronic but not acute treatment with fluoxetine prevented …