Face Coding Is Bilateral in the Female Brain

Background: It is currently believed that face processing predominantly activates the right hemisphere in humans, but available literature is very inconsistent. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, ERPs were recorded in 50 right-handed women and men in response to 390 faces (of different age and sex), and 130 technological objects. Results showed no sex difference in the amplitude of N170 to objects; a much larger face-specific response over the right hemisphere in men, and a bilateral response in women; a lack of face-age coding effect over the left hemisphere in men, with no differences in N170 to faces as a function of age; a significant bilateral face-age coding effect in women. Conclusions/Significance: LORETA reconstruction showed a significant left and right asymmetry in the activation of the fusiform gyrus (BA19), in women and men, respectively. The present data reveal a lesser degree of lateralization of brain functions related to face coding in women than men. In this light, they may provide an explanation of the inconsistencies in the available literature concerning the asymmetric activity of left and right occipito-temporal cortices devoted to fac

Physical activity and mental health in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Physical activity is prescribed as a component of primary management for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). This study investigates the association between physical activity and mental health as well as the exercise barriers, motivators and support providers for younger women with and without PCOS to assist in physical activity uptake and prescription for these women

Polycystic ovary syndrome

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 5-20% of women of reproductive age worldwide. The condition is characterized by hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction and polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM) - with excessive androgen production by the ovaries being a key feature of PCOS. Metabolic dysfunction characterized by insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinaemia is evident in the vast majority of affected individuals. PCOS increases the risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes and other pregnancy-related complications, venous thromboembolism, cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events and endometrial cancer. PCOS is a diagnosis of exclusion, based primarily on the presence of hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction and PCOM. Treatment should be tailored to the complaints and needs of the patient and involves targeting metabolic abnormalities through lifestyle changes, medication and potentially surgery for the prevention and management of excess weight, androgen suppression and/or blockade, endometrial protection, reproductive therapy and the detection and treatment of psychological features. This Primer summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding the epidemiology, mechanisms and pathophysiology, diagnosis, screening and prevention, management and future investigational directions of the disorder.Robert J Norman, Ruijin Wu and Marcin T Stankiewic

The Effects of Various Biochemical and Physical Factors Affects the Growth and Morphology of Gametophytes of the Ferm Nephrolepis hirsutula (L.) Schott.

The environment plays a very important role in the expression of the gene. Changes in the environment can often alter the development of the organism. For example, the leaves of Hanunculus aguatilis exhibit very different morphologies. The leaves on this aquatic plant are filiform when submerged and palmate. when above the sur face or the water. This environmental/ of genetic information is probably applicable to the alternation of generation found in plants, where gametophytes are fertilized via egg and sperm, giving rise to a sporophyte which produces spores by meiosis which develops into a gametophyte

Health-related quality of life in women with newly diagnosed polycystic ovary syndrome randomized between clomifene citrate plus metformin or clomifene citrate plus placebo

What is the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing ovulation induction with clomifene citrate (CC) combined with metformin compared with those using CC combined with placebo? Overall quality of life in women with PCOS treated with CC plus metformin was significantly lower than in women treated with CC plus placebo. There are no data on HRQoL in adult women who receive ovulation induction with the purpose of conceiving. Women with PCOS have higher scores on depression and anxiety scales and lower QoL scores than women without PCOS. This study was a secondary analysis of a multi-centre RCT completed between June 2001 and May 2004. The randomization was stratified per centre, and the centres received blinded, numbered containers with medication. There were172 women available for the HRQoL assessment: 85 were allocated to metformin and 87 were allocated to placebo. The Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL), a standard self-administered questionnaire, was used to assess physical symptoms, psychological distress, activity levels and overall HRQoL. In the intention to treat analysis, we found differences between the treatment groups with respect to physical symptoms and overall HRQoL. Physical well-being was significantly impaired in women allocated to metformin but not in women allocated to placebo. The increase in physical symptoms in the metformin group was caused by side-effects typical of metformin, and was most pronounced at Week 1 (mean difference 12 [95 confidence interval (CI): 816] and still apparent at Week 16 [mean difference 7 (95 CI 212]. Overall well-being was significantly impaired in the metformin group compared with the placebo group [mean difference 13 (95 CI 620)]. RSCL measurements were available only for three quarters of the participants. Although the number of missing questionnaires and the baseline measurements, were comparable between the treatment groups, some form of selection bias cannot be ruled out. Our finding that metformin was more burdensome than placebo, strengthens the recommendation that CC only and not CC plus metformin should be the drug of choice in this patient population. None of the authors declared a conflict of interest. There was no study funding. ISRCTN5590698