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Khorashad BS, Wang Y, Holmberg M, Dhejne C, Savic I. Gender Incongruence and Autistic Traits: Cerebral and Behavioral Underpinnings. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2024; 53:1873-1884. [PMID: 38388763 PMCID: PMC11106115 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-024-02809-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Gender dysphoria and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) co-occur at high rates. Yet, it is unknown whether gender dysphoria and ASD are associated with common or distinct neurobiological correlates or how they relate to experiences of gender-related body incongruence. Using the Social Responsiveness Scale, we assessed autistic traits in 99 transgender and 99 cisgender individuals and investigated their associations with gender-related body incongruence, measured via a visually based "Body Morph" test, and with cortical thickness in the brain. Autistic traits were significantly higher among transgender individuals, and those with higher autistic traits had higher body incongruence scoring. Among transgender individuals, higher autistic traits were linked with a thinner cortex bilaterally in the temporal pole and the superior and inferior temporal gyri. Autistic traits were only partly associated with cortical morphology patterns previously reported in transgender individuals; instead, they were primarily linked to temporal lobe areas mediating social cognition. While replicating the previous literature on the increased prevalence of autistic traits among transgender individuals, this study reports specific regions in the brains of transgender individuals where cortical thickness is associated with autistic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Behzad S Khorashad
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute and University Hospital, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Pediatrics, Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Yanlu Wang
- Radiology Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
- MR Physics Unit, Department of Medical Radiation Physics and Nuclear Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mats Holmberg
- ANOVA, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Cecilia Dhejne
- ANOVA, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ivanka Savic
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute and University Hospital, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Luo X, Zhao D, Gao Y, Yang Z, Wang D, Mei G. Implicit weight bias: shared neural substrates for overweight and angry facial expressions revealed by cross-adaptation. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae128. [PMID: 38566513 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
The perception of facial expression plays a crucial role in social communication, and it is known to be influenced by various facial cues. Previous studies have reported both positive and negative biases toward overweight individuals. It is unclear whether facial cues, such as facial weight, bias facial expression perception. Combining psychophysics and event-related potential technology, the current study adopted a cross-adaptation paradigm to examine this issue. The psychophysical results of Experiments 1A and 1B revealed a bidirectional cross-adaptation effect between overweight and angry faces. Adapting to overweight faces decreased the likelihood of perceiving ambiguous emotional expressions as angry compared to adapting to normal-weight faces. Likewise, exposure to angry faces subsequently caused normal-weight faces to appear thinner. These findings were corroborated by bidirectional event-related potential results, showing that adaptation to overweight faces relative to normal-weight faces modulated the event-related potential responses of emotionally ambiguous facial expression (Experiment 2A); vice versa, adaptation to angry faces relative to neutral faces modulated the event-related potential responses of ambiguous faces in facial weight (Experiment 2B). Our study provides direct evidence associating overweight faces with facial expression, suggesting at least partly common neural substrates for the perception of overweight and angry faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu Luo
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Huaxi University Town, Guian New District, Guiyang 550025China
| | - Danning Zhao
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Huaxi University Town, Guian New District, Guiyang 550025China
| | - Yi Gao
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 654 Cherry St NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, United States
| | - Zhihao Yang
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Huaxi University Town, Guian New District, Guiyang 550025China
| | - Da Wang
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Huaxi University Town, Guian New District, Guiyang 550025China
| | - Gaoxing Mei
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Huaxi University Town, Guian New District, Guiyang 550025China
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Bernstorff MA, Schumann N, Cibura C, Gerstmeyer J, Schildhauer TA, Königshausen M. The Impact of the SARS-COVID-19 Lockdowns on the Subjectively Perceived Performance Level of Amateur Athletes after Returning to the Gyms. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol 2024; 9:59. [PMID: 38651417 PMCID: PMC11036201 DOI: 10.3390/jfmk9020059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Since December 2019, few issues have garnered as much global attention as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-19). The imposed lockdowns in 2020/21, which led to the closure of all gyms, barred people from participating in their favourite sports activities. This study explores athletes' self-evaluations of their performance levels upon return to training facilities post-reopening. Data were collected in May 2021, after the end of the second lockdown, using a national online questionnaire. The study recorded 20 demographic and training-specific parameters to discern the factors influencing self-perceived performance upon resuming gym activities after the 2020/2021 lockdown. A total of 1378 respondents participated in the study. Of the total number of participants, 27.5% (365) reported regaining 100% of their original performance level after reopening their studios, a proportion that comprised 212 males, 150 females, and 3 individuals of unspecified gender. Additionally, 35.7% (474) estimated their performance level to be up to 75%, followed by 30% (398) recording their performance level at 50%, and a minority of 6.8% (90) determining their performance level to be up to 25%. Exercise intensity prior to lockdown, training experience, sex, and concurrent practice of another sport significantly influenced the athletes' self-assessment of their current fitness levels (p > 0.001, p > 0.001, p > 0.001, and 0.006, respectively). We need to understand the factors that shape self-perception, especially in case of another lockdown, in order to provide preventive assistance concerning mental and physical well-being. Positive influences on self-perception include prior athletic experience, intensive training before the lockdown, and continued participation in sports throughout the lockdown. Younger age is also favourable, but this may not necessarily reflect the benefits of youth; rather, it could indicate the current lack of accessible online sports activities for older individuals. Women, however, might have a less favourable perception of their own athletic performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria A. Bernstorff
- Universitätsklinik Bergmannsheil Bochum, Medical Department of Ruhr University of Bochum, 44789 Bochum, Germany; (C.C.); (J.G.); (T.A.S.); (M.K.)
| | - Norman Schumann
- Institution for Mathematics, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany;
| | - Charlotte Cibura
- Universitätsklinik Bergmannsheil Bochum, Medical Department of Ruhr University of Bochum, 44789 Bochum, Germany; (C.C.); (J.G.); (T.A.S.); (M.K.)
| | - Julius Gerstmeyer
- Universitätsklinik Bergmannsheil Bochum, Medical Department of Ruhr University of Bochum, 44789 Bochum, Germany; (C.C.); (J.G.); (T.A.S.); (M.K.)
| | - Thomas A. Schildhauer
- Universitätsklinik Bergmannsheil Bochum, Medical Department of Ruhr University of Bochum, 44789 Bochum, Germany; (C.C.); (J.G.); (T.A.S.); (M.K.)
| | - Matthias Königshausen
- Universitätsklinik Bergmannsheil Bochum, Medical Department of Ruhr University of Bochum, 44789 Bochum, Germany; (C.C.); (J.G.); (T.A.S.); (M.K.)
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Smekal V, Poyo Solanas M, Fraats EIC, de Gelder B. Differential contributions of body form, motion, and temporal information to subjective action understanding in naturalistic stimuli. Front Integr Neurosci 2024; 18:1302960. [PMID: 38533314 PMCID: PMC10963482 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2024.1302960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction We investigated the factors underlying naturalistic action recognition and understanding, as well as the errors occurring during recognition failures. Methods Participants saw full-light stimuli of ten different whole-body actions presented in three different conditions: as normal videos, as videos with the temporal order of the frames scrambled, and as single static representative frames. After each stimulus presentation participants completed one of two tasks-a forced choice task where they were given the ten potential action labels as options, or a free description task, where they could describe the action performed in each stimulus in their own words. Results While generally, a combination of form, motion, and temporal information led to the highest action understanding, for some actions form information was sufficient and adding motion and temporal information did not increase recognition accuracy. We also analyzed errors in action recognition and found primarily two different types. Discussion One type of error was on the semantic level, while the other consisted of reverting to the kinematic level of body part processing without any attribution of semantics. We elaborate on these results in the context of naturalistic action perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vojtěch Smekal
- Brain and Emotion Lab, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht Brain Imaging Centre, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
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Boerner KE, Keogh E, Inkster AM, Nahman-Averbuch H, Oberlander TF. A developmental framework for understanding the influence of sex and gender on health: Pediatric pain as an exemplar. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 158:105546. [PMID: 38272336 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Sex differences are a robust finding in many areas of adult health, including cardiovascular disease, psychiatric disorders, and chronic pain. However, many sex differences are not consistently observed until after the onset of puberty. This has led to the hypothesis that hormones are primary contributors to sex differences in health outcomes, largely ignoring the relative contributions of early developmental influences, emerging psychosocial factors, gender, and the interaction between these variables. In this paper, we argue that a comprehensive understanding of sex and gender contributions to health outcomes should start as early as conception and take an iterative biopsychosocial-developmental perspective that considers intersecting social positions. We present a conceptual framework, informed by a review of the literature in basic, clinical, and social science that captures how critical developmental stages for both sex and gender can affect children's health and longer-term outcomes. The literature on pediatric chronic pain is used as a worked example of how the framework can be applied to understanding different chronic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katelynn E Boerner
- Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, and BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
| | - Edmund Keogh
- Department of Psychology & Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Amy M Inkster
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, and BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Hadas Nahman-Averbuch
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Tim F Oberlander
- Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, and BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada; School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, and BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Senel G, Macia-Varela F, Gallego J, Jensen HP, Hornbæk K, Slater M. Imperceptible body transformation in virtual reality: Saliency of self representation. iScience 2023; 26:107938. [PMID: 37876610 PMCID: PMC10590814 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2022] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Change blindness (CB) is the perceptual phenomenon whereby people are blind to dramatic changes in their visual environment. In virtual reality (VR) a person's body can be substituted by a life-sized virtual one that moves synchronously with their real body movements as their self-representation. We consider whether CB occurs in VR, and whether there are differences in the case of changes to their own virtual body compared with the body of another. Forty people took part in a Qi Gong lesson in VR led by a virtual instructor. During the lesson both their own and the instructor's face dramatically changed in appearance. Overall, 73% and 85% did not notice the changes to their own and instructor's face respectively. People make iconic inferences about their visual surroundings without sampling detail, and reduced CB in the case of their own body may be a marker for self-representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gizem Senel
- Event Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences of the University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francisco Macia-Varela
- Event Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jaime Gallego
- Event Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Kasper Hornbæk
- Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mel Slater
- Event Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences of the University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Andrushko JW, Rinat S, Kirby ED, Dahlby J, Ekstrand C, Boyd LA. Females exhibit smaller volumes of brain activation and lower inter-subject variability during motor tasks. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17698. [PMID: 37848679 PMCID: PMC10582116 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44871-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Past work has shown that brain structure and function differ between females and males. Males have larger cortical and sub-cortical volume and surface area (both total and subregional), while females have greater cortical thickness in most brain regions. Functional differences are also reported in the literature, yet to date little work has systematically considered whether patterns of brain activity indexed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) differ between females and males. The current study sought to remediate this issue by employing task-based whole brain motor mapping analyses using an openly available dataset. We tested differences in patterns of functional brain activity associated with 12 voluntary movement patterns in females versus males. Results suggest that females exhibited smaller volumes of brain activation across all 12 movement tasks, and lower patterns of variability in 10 of the 12 movements. We also observed that females had greater cortical thickness, which is in alignment with previous analyses of structural differences. Overall, these findings provide a basis for considering biological sex in future fMRI research and provide a foundation of understanding differences in how neurological pathologies present in females vs males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin W Andrushko
- Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Shie Rinat
- Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Eric D Kirby
- Faculty of Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Julia Dahlby
- Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Chelsea Ekstrand
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.
| | - Lara A Boyd
- Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
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Zelco A, Wapeesittipan P, Joshi A. Insights into Sex and Gender Differences in Brain and Psychopathologies Using Big Data. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:1676. [PMID: 37629533 PMCID: PMC10455614 DOI: 10.3390/life13081676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The societal implication of sex and gender (SG) differences in brain are profound, as they influence brain development, behavior, and importantly, the presentation, prevalence, and therapeutic response to diseases. Technological advances have enabled speed up identification and characterization of SG differences during development and in psychopathologies. The main aim of this review is to elaborate on new technological advancements, such as genomics, imaging, and emerging biobanks, coupled with bioinformatics analyses of data generated from these technologies have facilitated the identification and characterization of SG differences in the human brain through development and psychopathologies. First, a brief explanation of SG concepts is provided, along with a developmental and evolutionary context. We then describe physiological SG differences in brain activity and function, and in psychopathologies identified through imaging techniques. We further provide an overview of insights into SG differences using genomics, specifically taking advantage of large cohorts and biobanks. We finally emphasize how bioinformatics analyses of big data generated by emerging technologies provides new opportunities to reduce SG disparities in health outcomes, including major challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Anagha Joshi
- Department of Clinical Science, Computational Biology Unit, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway; (A.Z.); (P.W.)
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Reed MB, Handschuh PA, Klöbl M, Konadu ME, Kaufmann U, Hahn A, Kranz GS, Spies M, Lanzenberger R. The influence of sex steroid treatment on insular connectivity in gender dysphoria. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2023; 155:106336. [PMID: 37499299 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sex-specific differences in brain connectivity were found in various neuroimaging studies, though little is known about sex steroid effects on insular functioning. Based on well-characterized sex differences in emotion regulation, interoception and higher-level cognition, gender-dysphoric individuals receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy represent an interesting cohort to investigate how sex hormones might influence insular connectivity and related brain functions. METHODS To analyze the potential effect of sex steroids on insular connectivity at rest, 11 transgender women, 14 transgender men, 20 cisgender women, and 11 cisgender men were recruited. All participants underwent two magnetic resonance imaging sessions involving resting-state acquisitions separated by a median time period of 4.5 months and also completed the Bermond-Vorst alexithymia questionnaire at the initial and final examination. Between scans, transgender subjects received gender-affirming hormone therapy. RESULTS A seed based functional connectivity analysis revealed a significant 2-way interaction effect of group-by-time between right insula, cingulum, left middle frontal gyrus and left angular gyrus. Post-hoc tests demonstrated an increase in connectivity for transgender women when compared to cisgender men. Furthermore, spectral dynamic causal modelling showed reduced effective connectivity from the posterior cingulum and left angular gyrus to the left middle frontal gyrus as well as from the right insula to the left middle frontal gyrus. Alexithymia changes were found after gender-affirming hormone therapy for transgender women in both fantasizing and identifying. CONCLUSION These findings suggest a considerable influence of estrogen administration and androgen suppression on brain networks implicated in interoception, own-body perception and higher-level cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Murray B Reed
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Patricia A Handschuh
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Manfred Klöbl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Melisande E Konadu
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Ulrike Kaufmann
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Andreas Hahn
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Georg S Kranz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria; Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Marie Spies
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Rupert Lanzenberger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
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Investigation of Brain Activation Patterns Related to the Feminization or Masculinization of Body and Face Images across Genders. Tomography 2022; 8:2093-2106. [PMID: 36006074 PMCID: PMC9416062 DOI: 10.3390/tomography8040176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies demonstrated sex-related differences in several areas of the human brain, including patterns of brain activation in males and females when observing their own bodies and faces (versus other bodies/faces or morphed versions of themselves), but a complex paradigm touching multiple aspects of embodied self-identity is still lacking. We enrolled 24 healthy individuals (12 M, 12 F) in 3 different fMRI experiments: the vision of prototypical body silhouettes, the vision of static images of the face of the participants morphed with prototypical male and female faces, the vision of short videos showing the dynamic transformation of the morphing. We found differential sexual activations in areas linked to self-identity and to the ability to attribute mental states: In Experiment 1, the male group activated more the bilateral thalamus when looking at sex congruent body images, while the female group activated more the middle and inferior temporal gyrus. In Experiment 2, the male group activated more the supplementary motor area when looking at their faces; the female group activated more the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). In Experiment 3, the female group activated more the dmPFC when observing either the feminization or the masculinization of their face. The defeminization produced more activations in females in the left superior parietal lobule and middle occipital gyrus. The performance of all classifiers built using single ROIs exceeded chance level, reaching an area under the ROC curves > 0.85 in some cases (notably, for Experiment 2 using the V1 ROI). The results of the fMRI tasks showed good agreement with previously published studies, even if our sample size was small. Therefore, our functional MRI protocol showed significantly different patterns of activation in males and females, but further research is needed both to investigate the gender-related differences in activation when observing a morphing of their face/body, and to validate our paradigm using a larger sample.
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Uribe C, Escrichs A, de Filippi E, Sanz-Perl Y, Junque C, Gomez-Gil E, Kringelbach ML, Guillamon A, Deco G. Whole-brain dynamics differentiate among cisgender and transgender individuals. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:4103-4115. [PMID: 35583382 PMCID: PMC9374880 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
How the brain represents gender identity is largely unknown, but some neural differences have recently been discovered. We used an intrinsic ignition framework to investigate whether there are gender differences in the propagation of neural activity across the whole-brain and within resting-state networks. Studying 29 trans men and 17 trans women with gender incongruence, 22 cis women, and 19 cis men, we computed the capability of a given brain area in space to propagate activity to other areas (mean-ignition), and the variability across time for each brain area (node-metastability). We found that both measurements differentiated all groups across the whole brain. At the network level, we found that compared to the other groups, cis men showed higher mean-ignition of the dorsal attention network and node-metastability of the dorsal and ventral attention, executive control, and temporal parietal networks. We also found higher mean-ignition values in cis men than in cis women within the executive control network, but higher mean-ignition in cis women than cis men and trans men for the default mode. Node-metastability was higher in cis men than cis women in the somatomotor network, while both mean-ignition and node-metastability were higher for cis men than trans men in the limbic network. Finally, we computed correlations between these measurements and a body image satisfaction score. Trans men's dissatisfaction as well as cis men's and cis women's satisfaction toward their own body image were distinctively associated with specific networks in each group. Overall, the study of the whole-brain network dynamical complexity discriminates gender identity groups, functional dynamic approaches could help disentangle the complex nature of the gender dimension in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carme Uribe
- Unitat de Psicologia Medica, Departament de Medicina, Institute of Neuroscience, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain.,Research Imaging Centre, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Anira Escrichs
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Eleonora de Filippi
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Yonatan Sanz-Perl
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Carme Junque
- Unitat de Psicologia Medica, Departament de Medicina, Institute of Neuroscience, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Morten L Kringelbach
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Antonio Guillamon
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Facultad de Psicologia, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.,Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.,Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Chen X, Xiao M, Qin J, Bian Z, Qiu J, Feng T, He Q, Lei X, Chen H. Association between high levels of body-esteem and increased degree of midcingulate cortex global connectivity: A resting-state fMRI study. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e14072. [PMID: 35460526 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Multiple neuroimaging studies have examined the neural underpinnings of body image disturbances in patients with eating disorders. However, key brain regions related to body image, such as body-esteem (BE), among healthy individuals are understudied. Given the extremely crucial role of BE in eating behaviors and physical and mental health, the current study conducted data-driven analysis and characterized the neurobiological correlates of BE with the network properties of the resting brain using the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) measures of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data and seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC). A total of 694 healthy young adults (females = 474, mean age = 18.38 years, range = 17-22) underwent rs-fMRI, and completed the Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults, the Eating Disorder Diagnosis Scale, and the Restraint Scale. After correcting for differences in age, gender, body mass index, and head motion, whole-brain correlation analyses revealed that a high level of BE was associated with increased DC within the right midcingulate cortex (MCC) and subsequent high levels of MCC-based RSFC strengths. Furthermore, MCC connectivity patterns related to BE were inversely associated with disordered eating behaviors. These findings suggest that adaptive cognitive and emotional regulation (i.e., self-evaluation and emotion based on body image) may explain the potential relationship between MCC connectivity patterns and BE to a certain extent. As such, future studies should investigate these interesting possibilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ximei Chen
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Mingyue Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jingmin Qin
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ziming Bian
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jiang Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Chongqing, China
| | - Tingyong Feng
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Qinghua He
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Chongqing, China.,Institute of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xu Lei
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Sleep and NeuroImaging Center, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hong Chen
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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13
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Brain connectivity dynamics in cisgender and transmen people with gender incongruence before gender affirmative hormone treatment. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21036. [PMID: 34702875 PMCID: PMC8548343 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00508-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Large-scale brain network interactions have been described between trans- and cis-gender binary identities. However, a temporal perspective of the brain's spontaneous fluctuations is missing. We investigated the functional connectivity dynamics in transmen with gender incongruence and its relationship with interoceptive awareness. We describe four states in native and meta-state spaces: (i) one state highly prevalent with sparse overall connections; (ii) a second with strong couplings mainly involving components of the salience, default, and executive control networks. Two states with global sparse connectivity but positive couplings (iii) within the sensorimotor network, and (iv) between salience network regions. Transmen had more dynamical fluidity than cismen, while cismen presented less meta-state fluidity and range dynamism than transmen and ciswomen. A positive association between attention regulation and fluidity and meta-state range dynamism was found in transmen. There exist gender differences in the temporal brain dynamism, characterized by distinct interrelations of the salience network as catalyst interacting with other networks. We offer a functional explanation from the neurodevelopmental cortical hypothesis of a gendered-self.
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14
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Blachman-Braun R, Talavera JO, Pérez-Rodríguez M, Roy-García I, Rivas-Ruiz R, Huitrón-Bravo G, Salmerón-Castro J. Self-reported body silhouettes: a diagnostic instrument for anthropometric parameters. Public Health 2021; 200:39-46. [PMID: 34662752 DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2021] [Revised: 08/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Routine body size measurement of anthropometric values requires professionals, standardized techniques, and calibrated tools. Therefore, there is a need for easier screening tools such as the self-reported body silhouette (Self-bosi). The aim of this study was to analyze the performance of Self-bosi as a proxy of anthropometric values. STUDY DESIGN Prospective analytic study of the Health Workers Cohort Study. METHODS Adult participants of the Health Workers Cohort Study were included. Then, through the calculation sensitivity and specificity of Self-bosi to detect abnormal waist circumference (WC) (≥90 cm for male and ≥80 cm for female participants), elevated body fat percentage (BF%) (≥25% for male and ≥35% for female participants), as well as overweight and obesity (≥25 kg/m2) and obesity (≥30 kg/m2). RESULTS A total of 2471 male and 5940 female participants were analyzed. Overall, Self-bosi discriminate high WC values (area under the curve [AUC]; male participants: 0.80, female participants: 0.82); increased BF% (AUC: male participants: 0.78, female participants: 0.83); overweight and obesity (AUC: male participants: 0.81, female participants: 0.86); and obesity (AUC: male participants: 0.83, female participants: 0.89). CONCLUSION Self-bosi is an accurate method to assess increased WC, BF%, obesity, and overweight-obesity in Mexican adults. Given its simplicity and low-cost of the self-reported body silhouette, it might be considered a useful anthropometric screening instrument in large scale epidemiological research.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Blachman-Braun
- Centro de Adiestramiento e Investigación Clínica, Hospital de Especialidades CMN SXXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Ciudad de México, México; Department of Urology, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - J O Talavera
- Jefatura de Enseñanza, Centro Médico ABC, Ciudad de México, México.
| | - M Pérez-Rodríguez
- Centro de Adiestramiento e Investigación Clínica, Hospital de Especialidades CMN SXXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Ciudad de México, México
| | - I Roy-García
- Centro de Adiestramiento e Investigación Clínica, Hospital de Especialidades CMN SXXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Ciudad de México, México
| | - R Rivas-Ruiz
- Centro de Adiestramiento e Investigación Clínica, Hospital de Especialidades CMN SXXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Ciudad de México, México
| | - G Huitrón-Bravo
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, Estado de México, México
| | - J Salmerón-Castro
- Centro de Investigación en Políticas, Población y Salud, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
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15
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Meneguzzo P, Collantoni E, Bonello E, Vergine M, Behrens SC, Tenconi E, Favaro A. The role of sexual orientation in the relationships between body perception, body weight dissatisfaction, physical comparison, and eating psychopathology in the cisgender population. Eat Weight Disord 2021; 26:1985-2000. [PMID: 33090374 PMCID: PMC8292238 DOI: 10.1007/s40519-020-01047-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Body weight dissatisfaction (BWD) and visual body perception are specific aspects that can influence the own body image, and that can concur with the development or the maintenance of specific psychopathological dimensions of different psychiatric disorders. The sexual orientation is a fundamental but understudied aspect in this field, and, for this reason, the purpose of this study is to improve knowledge about the relationships among BWD, visual body size-perception, and sexual orientation. METHODS A total of 1033 individuals participated in an online survey. Physical comparison, depression, and self-esteem was evaluated, as well as sexual orientation and the presence of an eating disorder. A Figure Rating Scale was used to assess different valences of body weight, and mediation analyses were performed to investigated specific relationships between psychological aspects. RESULTS Bisexual women and gay men reported significantly higher BWD than other groups (p < 0.001); instead, higher body misperception was present in gay men (p = 0.001). Physical appearance comparison mediated the effect of sexual orientation in both BWD and perceptual distortion. No difference emerged between women with a history of eating disorders and without, as regards the value of body weight attributed to attractiveness, health, and presence on social media. CONCLUSION This study contributes to understanding the relationship between sexual orientations and body image representation and evaluation. Physical appearance comparisons should be considered as critical psychological factors that can improve and affect well-being. The impact on subjects with high levels of eating concerns is also discussed. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level III: case-control analytic study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Meneguzzo
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Enrico Collantoni
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Elisa Bonello
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Mariantonietta Vergine
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Simone C. Behrens
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Perceiving Systems, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Elena Tenconi
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128 Padova, Italy
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Angela Favaro
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128 Padova, Italy
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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16
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De Coster L, Sánchez-Herrero P, López-Moreno J, Tajadura-Jiménez A. Use of a real-life practical context changes the relationship between implicit body representations and real body measurements. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14451. [PMID: 34262115 PMCID: PMC8280174 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93865-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
A mismatch exists between people's mental representations of their own body and their real body measurements, which may impact general well-being and health. We investigated whether this mismatch is reduced when contextualizing body size estimation in a real-life scenario. Using a reverse correlation paradigm, we constructed unbiased, data-driven visual depictions of participants' implicit body representations. Across three conditions-own abstract, ideal, and own concrete body-participants selected the body that looked most like their own, like the body they would like to have, or like the body they would use for online shopping. In the own concrete condition only, we found a significant correlation between perceived and real hip width, suggesting that the perceived/real body match only exists when body size estimation takes place in a practical context, although the negative correlation indicated inaccurate estimation. Further, participants who underestimated their body size or who had more negative attitudes towards their body weight showed a positive correlation between perceived and real body size in the own abstract condition. Finally, our results indicated that different body areas were implicated in the different conditions. These findings suggest that implicit body representations depend on situational and individual differences, which has clinical and practical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lize De Coster
- DEI Interactive Systems Group, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avenida de la Universidad 30, Leganés, 28911, Spain.
| | | | - Jorge López-Moreno
- Seddi Labs, Madrid, Spain
- Multimodal Simulation Lab, Department of Computer Science and Architecture, Computer Systems and Languages, Statistics and Operative Investigation, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Tajadura-Jiménez
- DEI Interactive Systems Group, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avenida de la Universidad 30, Leganés, 28911, Spain
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17
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Mello M, Fusaro M, Tieri G, Aglioti SM. Wearing same- and opposite-sex virtual bodies and seeing them caressed in intimate areas. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:461-474. [PMID: 34169751 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211031557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Immersive virtual reality enables people to undergo the experience of owning an artificial body and vicariously feeling tactile stimuli delivered to it. However, it is currently unknown how such experiences are modified by the sexual congruency between the human and the artificial agent. In two studies, heterosexual men (Experiment 1) and women (Experiment 2) embodied same-sex and opposite-sex avatars and were asked to evaluate the experience (e.g., pleasantness, erogeneity) of being touched on social or intimate areas of their virtual body by a male or female avatar. Electrocardiogram and galvanic skin response were also recorded. Moreover, participants' implicit and explicit gender biases were examined via a gender-potency implicit association test and the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. When embodying a same-sex avatar, men and women rated caresses on intimate areas from an avatar of the opposite sex as more pleasant and erogenous. Conversely, body swap-that is, wearing an opposite-sex avatar-enhanced participants' perceptions of pleasantness and erogeneity for caresses on intimate areas from a same-sex toucher. This effect was stronger in men than in women. Furthermore, physiological correlates of enhanced processing of arousing stimuli predicted behavioural outcomes during the body swap illusion. Wearing an opposite-sex avatar affects one's own body representations and may have important implications on people's attitudes and implicit reactivity to touch-mediated interactions. Men seem more susceptible to this type of body swap illusion. Our paradigm may induce profound changes of cross-sex perspective-taking and provide novel tools for promoting empathy and comprehension of sex-related diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Mello
- SCNLab, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.,Sapienza, Università degli Studi di Roma & Center for Life Nano- and Neuro-Science, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy
| | - Martina Fusaro
- SCNLab, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.,Sapienza, Università degli Studi di Roma & Center for Life Nano- and Neuro-Science, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy
| | - Gaetano Tieri
- SCNLab, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.,Virtual Reality Lab, University of Rome Unitelma Sapienza, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- SCNLab, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.,Sapienza, Università degli Studi di Roma & Center for Life Nano- and Neuro-Science, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy
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18
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Wang Y, Khorashad BS, Feusner JD, Savic I. Cortical Gyrification in Transgender Individuals. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:3184-3193. [PMID: 33718960 PMCID: PMC8324983 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Revised: 12/20/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Gender incongruence (GI) is characterized by a feeling of estrangement from the own body in the context of self. GI is often described in people who identify as transgender. The underlying mechanisms are unknown. Data from MRI measurements and tests of own body perception triggered us to pose a model that GI in transgender persons (TGI) could be associated with a disconnection within the brain circuits mediating the perception of own body as self. This is a departure from a previous model of sex atypical cerebral dimorphism, introducing a concept that better accords with a core feature of TGI. The present MRI study of 54 hormone naive transmen (TrM), 38 transwomen (TrW), 44 cismen and 41 ciswomen show that cortical gyrification, a metric that reflects early maturation of cerebral cortex, is significantly lower in transgender compared with cisgender participants. This reduction is limited to the occipito-parietal cortex and the sensory motor cortex, regions encoding own body image and body ownership. Moreover, the cortical gyrification correlated inversely with own body-self incongruence in these regions. These novel data suggest that GI in TGI may originate in the neurodevelopment of body image encoding regions. The results add potentially to understanding neurobiological contributors to gender identity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanlu Wang
- Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm 171 77, Sweden
- MR Physics, Medical Radiation Physics and Nuclear Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm 171 76, Sweden
| | - Behzad S Khorashad
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 171 77, Sweden
| | - Jamie D Feusner
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 171 77, Sweden
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Ivanka Savic
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 171 77, Sweden
- Department of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-6975, USA
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19
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Predicting outcomes of cross-sex hormone therapy in transgender individuals with gender incongruence based on pre-therapy resting-state brain connectivity. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2020; 29:102517. [PMID: 33340976 PMCID: PMC7750413 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with gender incongruence (GI) experience serious distress due to incongruence between their gender identity and birth-assigned sex. Sociological, cultural, interpersonal, and biological factors are likely contributory, and for some individuals medical treatment such as cross-sex hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery can be helpful. Cross-sex hormone therapy can be effective for reducing body incongruence, but responses vary, and there is no reliable way to predict therapeutic outcomes. We used clinical and MRI data before cross-sex hormone therapy as features to train a machine learning model to predict individuals' post-therapy body congruence (the degree to which photos of their bodies match their self-identities). Twenty-five trans women and trans men with gender incongruence participated. The model significantly predicted post-therapy body congruence, with the highest predictive features coming from the cingulo-opercular (R2 = 0.41) and fronto-parietal (R2 = 0.30) networks. This study provides evidence that hormone therapy efficacy can be predicted from information collected before therapy, and that patterns of functional brain connectivity may provide insights into body-brain effects of hormones, affecting one's sense of body congruence. Results could help identify the need for personalized therapies in individuals predicted to have low body-self congruence after standard therapy.
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20
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Majid DSA, Burke SM, Manzouri A, Moody TD, Dhejne C, Feusner JD, Savic I. Neural Systems for Own-body Processing Align with Gender Identity Rather Than Birth-assigned Sex. Cereb Cortex 2019; 30:2897-2909. [PMID: 31813993 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Revised: 10/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Gender identity is a core aspect of self-identity and is usually congruent with birth-assigned sex and own body sex-perception. The neuronal circuits underlying gender identity are unknown, but greater awareness of transgenderism has sparked interest in studying these circuits. We did this by comparing brain activation and connectivity in transgender individuals (for whom gender identity and birth-assigned sex are incongruent) with that in cisgender controls (for whom they are congruent) when performing a body self-identification task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Thirty transgender and 30 cisgender participants viewed images of their own bodies and bodies morphed in sex toward or opposite to birth-assigned sex, rating each image to the degree they identified with it. While controls identified with images of themselves, transgender individuals identified with images morphed "opposite" to their birth-assigned sex. After covarying out the effect of self-similarity ratings, both groups activated similar self- and body-processing systems when viewing bodies that aligned with their gender identity rather than birth-assigned sex. Additionally, transgender participants had greater limbic involvement when viewing ambiguous, androgynous images of themselves morphed toward their gender identity. These results shed light on underlying self-processing networks specific to gender identity and uncover additional involvement of emotional processing in transgender individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- D S Adnan Majid
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Sarah M Burke
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Leiden University, 2311 EZ Leiden, The Netherlands.,Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Teena D Moody
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Cecilia Dhejne
- Department of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, 171 76 Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jamie D Feusner
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Ivanka Savic
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Solna, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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21
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A New Theory of Gender Dysphoria Incorporating the Distress, Social Behavioral, and Body-Ownership Networks. eNeuro 2019; 6:ENEURO.0183-19.2019. [PMID: 31792116 PMCID: PMC6911960 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0183-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
When postmortem studies related to transgender individuals were first published, little was known about the function of the various identified nuclei. Now, over 2 decades later, significant progress has been made associating function with specific brain regions, as well as in identifying networks associated with groups of behaviors. However, much of this progress has not been integrated into the general conceptualization of gender dysphoria in humans. When postmortem studies related to transgender individuals were first published, little was known about the function of the various identified nuclei. Now, over 2 decades later, significant progress has been made associating function with specific brain regions, as well as in identifying networks associated with groups of behaviors. However, much of this progress has not been integrated into the general conceptualization of gender dysphoria in humans. I hypothesize that in individuals with gender dysphoria, the aspects of chronic distress, gender atypical behavior, and incongruence between perception of gender identity and external primary sex characteristics are all directly related to functional differences in associated brain networks. I evaluated previously published neuroscience data related to these aspects and the associated functional networks, along with other relevant information. I find that the brain networks that give individuals their ownership of body parts, that influence gender typical behavior, and that are involved in chronic distress are different in individuals with and without gender dysphoria, leading to a new theory—that gender dysphoria is a sensory perception condition, an alteration in the sense of gender influenced by the reflexive behavioral responses associated with each of these networks. This theory builds upon previous work that supports the relevance of the body-ownership network and that questions the relevance of cerebral sexual dimorphism in regard to gender dysphoria. However, my theory uses a hierarchical executive function model to incorporate multiple reflexive factors (body ownership, gender typical/atypical behavior, and chronic distress) with the cognitive, reflective process of gender identity.
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22
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Eating disorders are severe psychiatric disorders with a suspected complex biopsychosocial cause. The purpose of this review is to synthesize the recent literature on brain imaging in eating disorders. RECENT FINDINGS Food restriction as well as binge eating and purging behaviors are associated with lower regional brain volumes or cortical thickness, but those changes largely return to normal with normalization of weight and eating behavior. Computational modeling has started to identify patterns of structural and functional imaging data that classify eating disorder subtypes, which could be used in the future, diagnostically and to better understand disorder-specific psychopathology. The prediction error model, a computational approach to assess dopamine-related brain reward function, helped support a brain-based model for anorexia nervosa. In that model, the conscious motivation to restrict conflicts with body signals that stimulate eating. This conflict causes anxiety and drives a vicious cycle of food restriction. SUMMARY Novel brain research supports the notion that eating disorders have distinct neurobiological underpinnings. This new knowledge can be used to describe disease models to patients and develop novel treatments.
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23
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Flores YN, Contreras ZA, Ramírez-Palacios P, Morales LS, Edwards TC, Gallegos-Carrillo K, Salmerón J, Lang CM, Sportiche N, Patrick DL. Increased Prevalence of Psychosocial, Behavioral, and Socio-Environmental Risk Factors among Overweight and Obese Youths in Mexico and the United States. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:E1534. [PMID: 31052211 PMCID: PMC6539776 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16091534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Revised: 04/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine various psychosocial, behavioral, and socio-environmental factors in a multiethnic sample of healthy-weight, overweight, and obese youths in the United States (US) and Mexico and determine differences by sex. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 633 youths aged 11-18 years who completed a self-reported questionnaire. Height and weight were measured to determine body mass index (BMI). Overweight and obese youth in both countries were significantly more likely to report a higher body image dissatisfaction (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.67 and OR= 2.95, respectively), depressive symptoms (OR = 1.08 and OR = 1.12, respectively), perceive themselves as overweight (OR = 2.57) or obese (OR = 5.30), and a lower weight-specific quality of life (OR = 0.97 and OR = 0.95, respectively) than healthy-weight youth. Obese youth have lower healthy lifestyle priorities (OR = 0.75) and are less likely to be physically active (OR = 0.79) and eat breakfast (OR = 0.47) than healthy-weight youth. Additionally, overweight and obese youth are more likely to engage in weight control behaviors (OR = 5.19 and OR = 8.88, respectively) and restrained eating than healthy-weight youth. All the aforementioned results had a p-value of <0.05, which was considered statistically significant. The association between these factors and overweight or obesity remained significant after controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and country. In conclusion, obesity was associated with a range of psychosocial, behavioral, and socio-environmental risk factors in both countries. Our findings support the need for multifactorial approaches when developing interventions to address the growing problem of obesity among youth in the US and Mexico.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yvonne N Flores
- Unidad de Investigación Epidemiológica y en Servicios de Salud, Delegación Morelos, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62000, Mexico.
- UCLA Department of Health Policy and Management, Center for Cancer Prevention and Control Research, Fielding School of Public Health and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | - Zuelma A Contreras
- UCLA Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | - Paula Ramírez-Palacios
- Unidad de Investigación Epidemiológica y en Servicios de Salud, Delegación Morelos, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62000, Mexico.
| | - Leo S Morales
- Department of Health Services, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
| | - Todd C Edwards
- Department of Health Services, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
| | - Katia Gallegos-Carrillo
- Unidad de Investigación Epidemiológica y en Servicios de Salud, Delegación Morelos, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62000, Mexico.
| | - Jorge Salmerón
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Centro de Investigación en Políticas, Población y Salud. Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico.
| | - Cathy M Lang
- UCLA Department of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | - Noémie Sportiche
- Unidad de Investigación Epidemiológica y en Servicios de Salud, Delegación Morelos, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62000, Mexico.
| | - Donald L Patrick
- Department of Health Services, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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24
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Burke SM, Majid DSA, Manzouri AH, Moody T, Feusner JD, Savic I. Sex differences in own and other body perception. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 40:474-488. [PMID: 30430680 PMCID: PMC6587810 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Revised: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Own body perception, and differentiating and comparing one's body to another person's body, are common cognitive functions that have relevance for self‐identity and social interactions. In several psychiatric conditions, including anorexia nervosa, body dysmorphic disorder, gender dysphoria, and autism spectrum disorder, self and own body perception, as well as aspects of social communication are disturbed. Despite most of these conditions having skewed prevalence sex ratios, little is known about whether the neural basis of own body perception differs between the sexes. We addressed this question by investigating brain activation using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a Body Perception task in 15 male and 15 female healthy participants. Participants viewed their own body, bodies of same‐sex, or opposite‐sex other people, and rated the degree that they appeared like themselves. We found that men and women did not differ in the pattern of brain activation during own body perception compared to a scrambled control image. However, when viewing images of other bodies of same‐sex or opposite‐sex, men showed significantly stronger activations in attention‐related and reward‐related brain regions, whereas women engaged stronger activations in striatal, medial‐prefrontal, and insular cortices, when viewing the own body compared to other images of the opposite sex. It is possible that other body images, particularly of the opposite sex, may be of greater salience for men, whereas images of own bodies may be more salient for women. These observations provide tentative neurobiological correlates to why women may be more vulnerable than men to conditions involving own body perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M Burke
- Brain & Development Research Centre, Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute and University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - D S Adnan Majid
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Amir H Manzouri
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute and University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Teena Moody
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Jamie D Feusner
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Ivanka Savic
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute and University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
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