In My Fair Lady, Professor Higgins laments, “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?” At the moment, there is no answer to that question but scientists are working on it. Besides the obvious gender differences, studies reveal men and women differ at the brain’s cellular level, which may account for why “women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with psychiatric disorders related to stress.” (“Stress,” by Debra A. Bangasser, Scientific American Mind, November/December, 2016, pg.62.)
For years, unfortunately, researchers excluded females from their studies on medications. They feared the ovulation cycle would complicate their findings and wanted to keep the data simple. (Ibid pg. 60) The omission proved to be a mistake. Brain science continues to discover that, too often, women react to prescriptions differently from men. The drug oxytocin is a prime instance. Studies of mice show this social bonding hormone reduces levels of anxiety in males but heightens it in females. (Ibid pg. 62-63)
Male-only research also means effective drugs for women never reach the market. We know, for example, that stress receptors in women’s brains stay active longer than in men’s. As a consequence, women remain alert and anxious for greater periods of time. Why the difference exists is a mystery. Some speculate that as women are traditional guardians of the young, nature intended their sensibilities to be heightened. (Ibid, pg. 63.)
Why can’t a woman can’t be more like a man? Maybe that’s a wrong question. Like the French, perhaps we should take it all in stride. “Vive la difference.”
