Sex matters! Are there differences between the sexes when it comes to brain function and the behaviours that result? This volume attempts to answer this fundamental question. If the answer is 'yes' then this should impact upon our approach to treating mental illness in humans, and to modelling it in animals, as we look for aetiological and pharmacological solutions.

Sex matters! Are there differences between the sexes when it comes to brain function and the behaviours that result? This volume attempts to answer this fundamental question. If the answer is 'yes' then this should impact upon our approach to treating mental illness in humans, and to modelling it in animals, as we look for aetiological and pharmacological solutions.

Mood and anxiety disorders in women represent an increasingly important area of research and treatment development. The authors take a broad biopsychosocial and developmental approach to the issues, beginning with anxiety disorders in adolescence and progressing through the life phases of women to menopause and old age. All the disorders are covered, from anxiety and borderline personality disorder to stress and late-life depression. Particular attention is paid to questions of vulnerability; epidemiological and clinical evidence showing gender differences in such disorders; aetiological explanations in terms of biological (including hormonal) as well as psychosocial parameters, and treatment implications.

Gender impacts significantly on the onset and nature of schizophrenia suffered by women: the female brain develops more rapidly than the male; estrogens produce antipsychotic effects; the female brain ages differently from the male, with a massive preponderance of female very-late-onset schizophrenia that may be related to a relative excess of dopamine D2 receptors. This comprehensive review is as much about women as it is about schizophrenia, encompassing the biological, endocrinological, epidemiological, reproductive, psychological, and social aspects of schizophrenia as experienced by women. An international, multidisciplinary team of clinicians and mental health researchers review past and current literature, and also assess sex-specific issues and evaluate their therapeutic, clinical, and social implications for more appropriate and effective treatments of schizophrenia in women now and in the future. This volume is essential reading for all clinicians, practitioners, and researchers involved with mental health and with women's health.