– Adolescence can be a challenging time emotionally, especially for young women who often experience increased anxiety compared to young men.
– A recent study examined levels of the neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate in brain regions involved in emotional processing and reasoning.
– Higher levels of GABA act to inhibit brain activity, while glutamate stimulates it. An imbalance with too much inhibition from GABA has been linked to anxiety.
– The study measured GABA and glutamate levels using MRI in 49 young girls aged 10-12 and 32 young adult women aged 18-25.
– They found that GABA levels relative to glutamate were higher in the prefrontal cortex of older participants, correlating with greater reported anxiety.
– This supports the hypothesis that anxiety can emerge when the “braking system” of the brain over-regulates thought processes needed to think through stressful situations.
– Managing fluctuations of these neurotransmitters, especially GABA, during adolescence may be a way to identify and treat anxiety disorders early, particularly in young women.
Source: ScienceAlert
