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Dhamala E, Bassett DS, Yeo T, Holmes AJ. Functional brain networks are associated with both sex and gender in children. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadn4202. [PMID: 38996031 PMCID: PMC11244548 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn4202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
Sex and gender are associated with human behavior throughout the life span and across health and disease, but whether they are associated with similar or distinct neural phenotypes is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that, in children, sex and gender are uniquely reflected in the intrinsic functional connectivity of the brain. Somatomotor, visual, control, and limbic networks are preferentially associated with sex, while network correlates of gender are more distributed throughout the cortex. These results suggest that sex and gender are irreducible to one another not only in society but also in biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvisha Dhamala
- Institute of Behavioral Science, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Uniondale, NY, USA
| | - Dani S. Bassett
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | - Thomas Yeo
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Avram J. Holmes
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
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2
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Eliot L. Remembering the null hypothesis when searching for brain sex differences. Biol Sex Differ 2024; 15:14. [PMID: 38336816 PMCID: PMC10854110 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-024-00585-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Human brain sex differences have fascinated scholars for centuries and become a key focus of neuroscientists since the dawn of MRI. We recently published a major review in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews showing that most male-female brain differences in humans are small and few have been reliably replicated. Although widely cited, this work was the target of a critical Commentary by DeCasien et al. (Biol Sex Differ 13:43, 2022). In this response, I update our findings and confirm the small effect sizes and pronounced scatter across recent large neuroimaging studies of human sex/gender difference. Based on the sum of data, neuroscientists would be well-advised to take the null hypothesis seriously: that men and women's brains are fundamentally similar, or "monomorphic". This perspective has important implications for how we study the genesis of behavioral and neuropsychiatric gender disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lise Eliot
- Stanson Toshok Center for Brain Function and Repair, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science, North Chicago, IL, USA.
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3
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McDonald B, Kanske P. Gender differences in empathy, compassion, and prosocial donations, but not theory of mind in a naturalistic social task. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20748. [PMID: 38007569 PMCID: PMC10676355 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47747-9] [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: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite broad interest, experimental evidence for gender differences in social abilities remains inconclusive. Two important factors may have limited previous results: (i) a lack of clear distinctions between empathy (sharing another's feelings), compassion (a feeling of concern toward others), and Theory of Mind (ToM; inferring others' mental states), and (ii) the absence of robust, naturalistic social tasks. Overcoming these limitations, in Study 1 (N = 295) we integrate three independent, previously published datasets, each using a dynamic and situated, video-based paradigm which disentangles ToM, empathy, and compassion, to examine gender differences in social abilities. We observed greater empathy and compassion in women compared to men, but found no evidence that either gender performed better in ToM. In Study 2 (n = 226) we extend this paradigm to allow participants to engage in prosocial donations. Along with replicating the findings of Study 1, we also observed greater prosocial donations in women compared to men. Additionally, we discuss an exploratory, novel finding, namely that ToM performance is positively associated with prosocial donations in women, but not men. Overall, these results emphasize the importance of establishing experimental designs that incorporate dynamic, complex stimuli to better capture the social realities that men and women experience in their daily lives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brennan McDonald
- Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Chemnitzer Straße 46, 01187, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Philipp Kanske
- Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Chemnitzer Straße 46, 01187, Dresden, Germany
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Dhamala E, Bassett DS, Yeo BTT, Homes AJ. Functional brain networks are associated with both sex and gender in children. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.12.566592. [PMID: 38013996 PMCID: PMC10680589 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.12.566592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Sex and gender are associated with human behavior throughout the lifespan and across health and disease, but whether they are associated with similar or distinct neural phenotypes is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that, in children, sex and gender are uniquely reflected in the intrinsic functional connectivity of the brain. Unimodal networks are more strongly associated with sex while heteromodal networks are more strongly associated with gender. These results suggest sex and gender are irreducible to one another not only in society but also in biology.
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Williams JS, Fattori MR, Honeyborne IR, Ritz SA. Considering hormones as sex- and gender-related factors in biomedical research: Challenging false dichotomies and embracing complexity. Horm Behav 2023; 156:105442. [PMID: 37913648 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
The inclusion of sex and gender considerations in biomedicine has been increasing in light of calls from research and funding agencies, governmental bodies, and advocacy groups to direct research attention to these issues. Although the inclusion of both female and male participants is often an important element, overreliance on a female-male binary tends to oversimplify the interactions between sex- and gender-related factors and health, and runs a risk of being influenced by cultural stereotypes about sex and gender. When biomedical researchers are examining how hormones associated with gender and sex may influence pathways of interest, it is of crucial importance to approach this work with a critical lens on the rhetoric used, and in ways that acknowledge the complexity of hormone physiology. Here, we document the ways in which discourses around sex, gender and hormones shape our scientific thinking and practice in biomedical research, and review how the existing scientific knowledge about hormones reflects a complex and dynamic reality that is often not reflected outside of specialist niches of hormone biology. Where biomedical scientists take up sex- and gender-associated hormones as a way of addressing sex and gender considerations, it is valuable for us to bring a critical lens to the rhetoric and discourses used, to employ a sex contextualist approach in designing experimentation, and be rigorous and reflexive about the approaches used in analysis and interpretation of data. These strategies will allow us to design experimentation that goes beyond binaries, and grapples more directly with the material intricacies of sex, gender, and hormones.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michelle R Fattori
- Health Sciences Education Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Isabella R Honeyborne
- Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Stacey A Ritz
- Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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6
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Dhamala E, Rong Ooi LQ, Chen J, Ricard JA, Berkeley E, Chopra S, Qu Y, Zhang XH, Lawhead C, Yeo BTT, Holmes AJ. Brain-Based Predictions of Psychiatric Illness-Linked Behaviors Across the Sexes. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 94:479-491. [PMID: 37031778 PMCID: PMC10524434 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.03.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individual differences in functional brain connectivity can be used to predict both the presence of psychiatric illness and variability in associated behaviors. However, despite evidence for sex differences in functional network connectivity and in the prevalence, presentation, and trajectory of psychiatric illnesses, the extent to which disorder-relevant aspects of network connectivity are shared or unique across the sexes remains to be determined. METHODS In this work, we used predictive modeling approaches to evaluate whether shared or unique functional connectivity correlates underlie the expression of psychiatric illness-linked behaviors in males and females in data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (N = 5260; 2571 females). RESULTS We demonstrate that functional connectivity profiles predict individual differences in externalizing behaviors in males and females but predict internalizing behaviors only in females. Furthermore, models trained to predict externalizing behaviors in males generalize to predict internalizing behaviors in females, and models trained to predict internalizing behaviors in females generalize to predict externalizing behaviors in males. Finally, the neurobiological correlates of many behaviors are largely shared within and across sexes: functional connections within and between heteromodal association networks, including default, limbic, control, and dorsal attention networks, are associated with internalizing and externalizing behaviors. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, these findings suggest that shared neurobiological patterns may manifest as distinct behaviors across the sexes. Based on these results, we recommend that both clinicians and researchers carefully consider how sex may influence the presentation of psychiatric illnesses, especially those along the internalizing-externalizing spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvisha Dhamala
- Institute of Behavioral Science, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
| | - Leon Qi Rong Ooi
- Centre for Sleep and Cognition and Centre for Translational Magnetic Resonance Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore; N.1 Institute for Health & Institute for Digital Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Integrative Sciences and Engineering Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jianzhong Chen
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore; N.1 Institute for Health & Institute for Digital Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Integrative Sciences and Engineering Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jocelyn A Ricard
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Sidhant Chopra
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Yueyue Qu
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Xi-Han Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Connor Lawhead
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - B T Thomas Yeo
- Centre for Sleep and Cognition and Centre for Translational Magnetic Resonance Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore; N.1 Institute for Health & Institute for Digital Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Integrative Sciences and Engineering Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts
| | - Avram J Holmes
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Psychiatry, Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey.
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Eliot L, Beery AK, Jacobs EG, LeBlanc HF, Maney DL, McCarthy MM. Why and How to Account for Sex and Gender in Brain and Behavioral Research. J Neurosci 2023; 43:6344-6356. [PMID: 37704386 PMCID: PMC10500996 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0020-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Long overlooked in neuroscience research, sex and gender are increasingly included as key variables potentially impacting all levels of neurobehavioral analysis. Still, many neuroscientists do not understand the difference between the terms "sex" and "gender," the complexity and nuance of each, or how to best include them as variables in research designs. This TechSights article outlines rationales for considering the influence of sex and gender across taxa, and provides technical guidance for strengthening the rigor and reproducibility of such analyses. This guidance includes the use of appropriate statistical methods for comparing groups as well as controls for key covariates of sex (e.g., total intracranial volume) and gender (e.g., income, caregiver stress, bias). We also recommend approaches for interpreting and communicating sex- and gender-related findings about the brain, which have often been misconstrued by neuroscientists and the lay public alike.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lise Eliot
- Stanson Toshok Center for Brain Function and Repair, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science, North Chicago, Illinois 60064
| | - Annaliese K Beery
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720
| | - Emily G Jacobs
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106
| | - Hannah F LeBlanc
- Division of the Humanities & Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
| | - Donna L Maney
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322
| | - Margaret M McCarthy
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
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Kheloui S, Jacmin-Park S, Larocque O, Kerr P, Rossi M, Cartier L, Juster RP. Sex/gender differences in cognitive abilities. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105333. [PMID: 37517542 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Sex/gender differences in cognitive sciences are riddled by conflicting perspectives. At the center of debates are clinical, social, and political perspectives. Front and center, evolutionary and biological perspectives have often focused on 'nature' arguments, while feminist and constructivist views have often focused on 'nurture arguments regarding cognitive sex differences. In the current narrative review, we provide a comprehensive overview regarding the origins and historical advancement of these debates while providing a summary of the results in the field of sexually polymorphic cognition. In so doing, we attempt to highlight the importance of using transdisciplinary perspectives which help bridge disciplines together to provide a refined understanding the specific factors that drive sex differences a gender diversity in cognitive abilities. To summarize, biological sex (e.g., birth-assigned sex, sex hormones), socio-cultural gender (gender identity, gender roles), and sexual orientation each uniquely shape the cognitive abilities reviewed. To date, however, few studies integrate these sex and gender factors together to better understand individual differences in cognitive functioning. This has potential benefits if a broader understanding of sex and gender factors are systematically measured when researching and treating numerous conditions where cognition is altered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Kheloui
- Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada
| | - Silke Jacmin-Park
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada
| | - Ophélie Larocque
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada
| | - Philippe Kerr
- Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada
| | - Mathias Rossi
- Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada
| | - Louis Cartier
- Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada
| | - Robert-Paul Juster
- Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada.
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Reilly OT, Brosnan SF, Benítez ME, Phillips KA, Hecht EE. Sex differences in white matter tracts of capuchin monkey brains. J Comp Neurol 2023; 531:1096-1107. [PMID: 37127839 PMCID: PMC10247455 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25480] [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: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Nonhuman primates exhibit sexual dimorphism in behavior, suggesting that there could be underlying differences in brain organization and function. Understanding this neuroanatomical variation is critical for enhancing our understanding of the evolution of sex differences in the human brain. Tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus [Cebus] apella) represent a phylogenetically diverse taxa of neotropical primates that converge on several behavioral characteristics with humans relevant to social organization, making them an important point of comparison for studying the evolution of sex differences in primates. While anatomical sex differences in gray matter have previously been found in capuchin monkeys, the current study investigates sex differences in white matter tracts. We carried out tract-based spatial statistical analysis on fractional anisotropy images of tufted capuchin monkeys (15 female, 5 male). We found that females showed significantly higher fractional anisotropy than males in regions of frontal-parietal white matter in the right cerebral hemisphere. Paralleling earlier findings in gray matter, male and female fractional anisotropy values in these regions were nonoverlapping. This complements prior work pointing toward capuchin sex differences in limbic circuitry and higher-order visual regions. We propose that these sex differences are related to the distinct socioecological niches occupied by male and female capuchins. Capuchin neuroanatomical sex differences appear to be more pronounced than in humans, which we suggest may relate to human adaptations for prolonged neurodevelopmental trajectories and increased plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia T Reilly
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
- Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Sarah F Brosnan
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
- Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
- Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Marcela E Benítez
- Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Kimberley A Phillips
- Department of Psychology, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas
- Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Erin E Hecht
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Weber KA, Teplin ZM, Wager TD, Law CSW, Prabhakar NK, Ashar YK, Gilam G, Banerjee S, Delp SL, Glover GH, Hastie TJ, Mackey S. Confounds in neuroimaging: A clear case of sex as a confound in brain-based prediction. Front Neurol 2022; 13:960760. [PMID: 36601297 PMCID: PMC9806266 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.960760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Muscle weakness is common in many neurological, neuromuscular, and musculoskeletal conditions. Muscle size only partially explains muscle strength as adaptions within the nervous system also contribute to strength. Brain-based biomarkers of neuromuscular function could provide diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive value in treating these disorders. Therefore, we sought to characterize and quantify the brain's contribution to strength by developing multimodal MRI pipelines to predict grip strength. However, the prediction of strength was not straightforward, and we present a case of sex being a clear confound in brain decoding analyses. While each MRI modality-structural MRI (i.e., gray matter morphometry), diffusion MRI (i.e., white matter fractional anisotropy), resting state functional MRI (i.e., functional connectivity), and task-evoked functional MRI (i.e., left or right hand motor task activation)-and a multimodal prediction pipeline demonstrated significant predictive power for strength (R 2 = 0.108-0.536, p ≤ 0.001), after correcting for sex, the predictive power was substantially reduced (R 2 = -0.038-0.075). Next, we flipped the analysis and demonstrated that each MRI modality and a multimodal prediction pipeline could significantly predict sex (accuracy = 68.0%-93.3%, AUC = 0.780-0.982, p < 0.001). However, correcting the brain features for strength reduced the accuracy for predicting sex (accuracy = 57.3%-69.3%, AUC = 0.615-0.780). Here we demonstrate the effects of sex-correlated confounds in brain-based predictive models across multiple brain MRI modalities for both regression and classification models. We discuss implications of confounds in predictive modeling and the development of brain-based MRI biomarkers, as well as possible strategies to overcome these barriers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth A. Weber
- Systems Neuroscience and Pain Lab, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States,*Correspondence: Kenneth A. Weber II
| | - Zachary M. Teplin
- Systems Neuroscience and Pain Lab, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States
| | - Tor D. Wager
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
| | - Christine S. W. Law
- Systems Neuroscience and Pain Lab, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States
| | - Nitin K. Prabhakar
- Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States
| | - Yoni K. Ashar
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Gadi Gilam
- Systems Neuroscience and Pain Lab, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States,The Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | - Scott L. Delp
- Department of Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States
| | - Gary H. Glover
- Radiological Sciences Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States
| | - Trevor J. Hastie
- Department of Statistics, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States
| | - Sean Mackey
- Systems Neuroscience and Pain Lab, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States
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11
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Sex influences clinical phenotype in frontotemporal dementia. Neurol Sci 2022; 43:5281-5287. [PMID: 35672480 PMCID: PMC9385756 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-022-06185-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Introduction Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) encompasses a wide spectrum of genetic, clinical, and histological findings. Sex is emerging as a potential biological variable influencing FTD heterogeneity; however, only a few studies explored this issue with nonconclusive results. Objective To estimate the role of sex in a single-center large cohort of FTD patients. Methods Five hundred thirty-one FTD patients were consecutively enrolled. Demographic, clinical, and neuropsychological features, survival rate, and serum neurofilament light (NfL) concentration were determined and compared between sex. Results The behavioral variant of FTD was more common in men, whereas primary progressive aphasia was overrepresented in women (p < 0.001). While global cognitive impairment was comparable, females had a more severe cognitive impairment, namely in Trail Making Test parts A and B (p = 0.003), semantic fluency (p = 0.03), Short Story Recall Test (p = 0.003), and the copy of Rey Complex Figure (p = 0.005). On the other hand, men exhibited more personality/behavioral symptoms (Frontal Behavior Inventory [FBI] AB, p = 0.003), displaying higher scores in positive FBI subscales (FBI B, p < 0.001). In particular, apathy (p = 0.02), irritability (p = 0.006), poor judgment (p = 0.033), aggressivity (p = 0.008), and hypersexuality (p = 0.006) were more common in men, after correction for disease severity. NfL concentration and survival were not statistically different between men and women (p = 0.167 and p = 0.645, respectively). Discussion The present study demonstrated that sex is a potential factor in determining FTD phenotype, while it does not influence survival. Although the pathophysiological contribution of sex in neurodegeneration is not well characterized yet, our findings highlight its role as deserving biological variable in FTD. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10072-022-06185-7.
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12
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Sadler CM, Peters KJ, Santangelo CM, Maslovat D, Carlsen AN. Retrospective composite analysis of StartReact data indicates sex differences in simple reaction time are not attributable to response preparation. Behav Brain Res 2022; 426:113839. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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13
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Dhamala E, Jamison KW, Jaywant A, Kuceyeski A. Shared functional connections within and between cortical networks predict cognitive abilities in adult males and females. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:1087-1102. [PMID: 34811849 PMCID: PMC8764478 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
A thorough understanding of sex-independent and sex-specific neurobiological features that underlie cognitive abilities in healthy individuals is essential for the study of neurological illnesses in which males and females differentially experience and exhibit cognitive impairment. Here, we evaluate sex-independent and sex-specific relationships between functional connectivity and individual cognitive abilities in 392 healthy young adults (196 males) from the Human Connectome Project. First, we establish that sex-independent models comparably predict crystallised abilities in males and females, but only successfully predict fluid abilities in males. Second, we demonstrate sex-specific models comparably predict crystallised abilities within and between sexes, and generally fail to predict fluid abilities in either sex. Third, we reveal that largely overlapping connections between visual, dorsal attention, ventral attention, and temporal parietal networks are associated with better performance on crystallised and fluid cognitive tests in males and females, while connections within visual, somatomotor, and temporal parietal networks are associated with poorer performance. Together, our findings suggest that shared neurobiological features of the functional connectome underlie crystallised and fluid abilities across the sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvisha Dhamala
- Department of RadiologyWeill Cornell MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Present address:
Department of PsychologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Keith W. Jamison
- Department of RadiologyWeill Cornell MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Abhishek Jaywant
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Weill Cornell MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- NewYork‐Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Amy Kuceyeski
- Department of RadiologyWeill Cornell MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
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14
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Wind J, Horst F, Rizzi N, John A, Kurti T, Schöllhorn WI. Sex-Specific Brain Responses to Imaginary Dance but Not Physical Dance: An Electroencephalography Study of Functional Connectivity and Electrical Brain Activity. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 15:731881. [PMID: 34975427 PMCID: PMC8715740 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.731881] [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: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
To date, most neurophysiological dance research has been conducted exclusively with female participants in observational studies (i.e., participants observe or imagine a dance choreography). In this regard, the sex-specific acute neurophysiological effect of physically executed dance can be considered a widely unexplored field of research. This study examines the acute impact of a modern jazz dance choreography on brain activity and functional connectivity using electroencephalography (EEG). In a within-subject design, 11 female and 11 male participants were examined under four test conditions: physically dancing the choreography with and without music and imagining the choreography with and without music. Prior to the EEG measurements, the participants acquired the choreography over 3 weeks with one session per week. Subsequently, the participants conducted all four test conditions in a randomized order on a single day, with the EEG measurements taken before and after each condition. Differences between the male and female participants were established in brain activity and functional connectivity analyses under the condition of imagined dance without music. No statistical differences between sexes were found in the other three conditions (physically executed dance with and without music as well as imagined dance with music). Physically dancing and music seem to have sex-independent effects on the human brain. However, thinking of dance without music seems to be rather sex-specific. The results point to a promising approach to decipher sex-specific differences in the use of dance or music. This approach could further be used to achieve a more group-specific or even more individualized and situationally adapted use of dance interventions, e.g., in the context of sports, physical education, or therapy. The extent to which the identified differences are due to culturally specific attitudes in the sex-specific contact with dance and music needs to be clarified in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Wind
- Department of Training and Movement Science, Institute of Sport Science, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Fabian Horst
- Department of Training and Movement Science, Institute of Sport Science, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Nikolas Rizzi
- Department of Training and Movement Science, Institute of Sport Science, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Alexander John
- Department of Training and Movement Science, Institute of Sport Science, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Tamara Kurti
- Department of Training and Movement Science, Institute of Sport Science, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Wolfgang I Schöllhorn
- Department of Training and Movement Science, Institute of Sport Science, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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15
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Evaluating the evidence for sex differences: a scoping review of human neuroimaging in psychopharmacology research. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:430-443. [PMID: 34732844 PMCID: PMC8674314 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01162-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Although sex differences in psychiatric disorders abound, few neuropsychopharmacology (NPP) studies consider sex as a biological variable (SABV). We conducted a scoping review of this literature in humans by systematically searching PubMed to identify peer-reviewed journal articles published before March 2020 that (1) studied FDA-approved medications used to treat psychiatric disorders (or related symptoms) and (2) adequately evaluated sex differences using in vivo neuroimaging methodologies. Of the 251 NPP studies that included both sexes and considered SABV in analyses, 80% used methodologies that eliminated the effect of sex (e.g., by including sex as a covariate to control for its effect). Only 20% (50 studies) adequately evaluated sex differences either by testing for an interaction involving sex or by stratifying analyses by sex. Of these 50 studies, 72% found statistically significant sex differences in at least one outcome. Sex differences in neural and behavioral outcomes were studied more often in drugs indicated for conditions with known sex differences. Likewise, the majority of studies conducted in those drug classes noted sex differences: antidepressants (13 of 16), antipsychotics (10 of 12), sedative-hypnotics (6 of 10), and stimulants (6 of 10). In contrast, only two studies of mood stabilizers evaluated SABV, with one noting a sex difference. By mapping this literature, we bring into sharp relief how few studies adequately evaluate sex differences in NPP studies. Currently, all NIH-funded studies are required to consider SABV. We urge scientific journals, peer reviewers, and regulatory agencies to require researchers to consider SABV in their research. Continuing to ignore SABV in NPP research has ramifications both in terms of rigor and reproducibility of research, potentially leading to costly consequences and unrealized benefits.
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16
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Fairly Criticized, or Politicized? Conflicts in the Neuroscience of Sex Differences in the Human Brain. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2021; 14:cshperspect.a039115. [PMID: 34872970 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a039115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Investigations of sex differences in the human brain take place on politically sensitive terrain. While some scholars express concern that gendered biases and stereotypes remain embedded in scientific research, others are alarmed about the politicization of science. To help better understand these debates, this review sets out three kinds of conflicts that can arise in the neuroscience of sex differences: academic freedom versus gender equality; frameworks, background assumptions, and dominant methodologies; and inductive risk and social values. The boundaries between fair criticism and politicization are explored for each kind of conflict, pointing to ways in which the academic community can facilitate fair criticism while protecting against politicization.
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17
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Duchesne A, Kaiser Trujillo A. Reflections on Neurofeminism and Intersectionality Using Insights From Psychology. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:684412. [PMID: 34658813 PMCID: PMC8513714 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.684412] [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: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Intersectionality contends that sex/gender is constituted of and with other social categories, and that the social structures giving rise to inequality should be addressed in research. This is a powerful and important perspective from which to investigate the processes and consequences of social group memberships, one which has been overlooked by most neuroscientific research. In particular, neurofeminism, a field of critical neuroscience that challenges neuroscientific assumptions, methods and interpretations of data that reinforce sexism, has ignored intersectionality to date. In contrast, research in the field of psychology has been engaging with intersectionality for more than a decade. In reflecting on how intersectionality has advanced feminist research in psychology, this paper provides a critical analysis of potential novel research avenues for neurofeminism. We identify three main research themes guided by intersectionality. The first theme involves research centered on understanding the socio-structural causes of health inequalities experienced by individuals with intersecting marginalized social identities; the second concerns research addressing the psychological processing of social group memberships that underlies the enactment of systemic discriminatory practices; and the third theme comprises intersectionality research that aims to challenge psychological epistemology. Drawing parallels between the fields of psychology and neuroscience, we explore the potential benefits and risks of advancing an intersectionality-informed neurofeminism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annie Duchesne
- Department of Psychology, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
| | - Anelis Kaiser Trujillo
- Gender Studies in STEM, Institute of Computer Science, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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18
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Shai A, Koffler S, Hashiloni-Dolev Y. Feminism, gender medicine and beyond: a feminist analysis of "gender medicine". Int J Equity Health 2021; 20:177. [PMID: 34344374 PMCID: PMC8330093 DOI: 10.1186/s12939-021-01511-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The feminist women's health movement empowered women's knowledge regarding their health and battled against paternalistic and oppressive practices within healthcare systems. Gender Medicine (GM) is a new discipline that studies the effect of sex/gender on general health. The international society for gender medicine (IGM) was embraced by the FDA and granted funds by the European Union to formulate policies for medical practice and research.We conducted a review of IGM publications and policy statements in scientific journals and popular media. We found that while biological differences between men and women are emphasized, the impact of society on women is under- represented. The effect of gender-related violence, race, ethnic conflicts, poverty, immigration and discrimination on women's health is seldom recognized. Contrary to feminist practice, GM is practiced by physicians and scientists, neglecting voices of other disciplines and of women themselves.In this article we show that while GM may promote some aspects of women's health, at the same time it reaffirms conservative positions on sex and gender that can serve to justify discrimination and disregard the impact of society on women's lives and health. An alternative approach, that integrates feminist thinking and practices into medical science, practice and policies is likely to result in a deep and beneficiary change in women's health worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayelet Shai
- Oncology Department, Gailee Medical Center, 89 Meona rd, Nahariya, Israel
- Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel
| | - Shahar Koffler
- Pediatrics Department, Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital, Ashdod, Israel
| | - Yael Hashiloni-Dolev
- Sociology and Anthropology Department, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Ben- Gurion Blvd 1, Be’er-Sheva, Israel
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19
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Errani C, Tsukamoto S, Kido A, Yoneda A, Bondi A, Zora F, Soucacos F, Mavrogenis AF. Women and men in orthopaedics. SICOT J 2021; 7:20. [PMID: 33812468 PMCID: PMC8019566 DOI: 10.1051/sicotj/2021020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To compare and discuss the gender disparities in the Orthopaedic specialty. METHODS We reviewed the literature to find the rates of women applying for an orthopaedic residency, fellowship, and academic career program, to understand the causes of the disparities in women in orthopaedics, and how this relates to orthopaedic surgical practice. RESULTS The idea that men and women are different and have different working styles and skills and the belief that males are more dominant and more status-worthy than females leads to gender barriers and stereotypes that restrict women from entering male-dominated specialties. It is important to mention that equivalent barriers restrict men from pursuing female-dominated specialties such as Gynecology. Economic disparities and gender stereotypes that divide medical specialties into masculine and feminine, creating a gender gap in health care are major concerns. However, the number of women in the health sector is expected to increase due to the growing amount of female students that are expected to soon graduate. A leadership gender gap also exists; although women consist of 70% of the health care workforce they occupy only 25% of leadership positions. CONCLUSION The existence of gender-based disparities in healthcare is multifactorial. The explanation behind the existence of a so-called gender gap lies in organizational and individual factors. Early development and family relations, the decision between work and life balance, personal choices and interests, as well as working conditions, absence of role models and mentorship and institutional policies make gender disparities even more evident.
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Affiliation(s)
- Costantino Errani
- Department of Orthopaedic Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, 40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Shinji Tsukamoto
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nara Medical University, 634-8521 Nara, Japan
| | - Akira Kido
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Nara Medical University, 634-8521 Nara, Japan
| | - Azusa Yoneda
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nara Medical University, 634-8521 Nara, Japan
| | - Alice Bondi
- Department of Orthopaedic Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, 40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Frida Zora
- European University of Cyprus, 2404 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Fotini Soucacos
- First Department of Orthopaedics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, 157 72 Athens, Greece
| | - Andreas F Mavrogenis
- First Department of Orthopaedics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, 157 72 Athens, Greece
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20
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Alshammari TK. Sexual dimorphism in pre-clinical studies of depression. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021; 105:110120. [PMID: 33002519 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Although there is a sex bias in the pathological mechanisms exhibited by brain disorders, investigation of the female brain in biomedical science has long been neglected. Use of the male model has generally been the preferred option as the female animal model exhibits both biological variability and hormonal fluctuations. Existing studies that compare behavioral and/or molecular alterations in animal models of brain diseases are generally underrepresented, and most utilize the male model. Nevertheless, in recent years there has been a trend toward the increased inclusion of females in brain studies. However, current knowledge regarding sex-based differences in depression and stress-related disorders is limited. This can be improved by reviewing preclinical studies that highlight sex differences in depression. This paper therefore presents a review of sex-based preclinical studies of depression. These shed light on the discrepancies between males and females regarding the biological mechanisms that underpin mechanistic alterations in the diseased brain. This review also highlights the conclusions drawn by preclinical studies to advance our understanding of mood disorders, encouraging researchers to promote ways of investigating and managing sexually dimorphic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahani K Alshammari
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Pharmacy College, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia; Prince Naïf Bin Abdul-Aziz Health Research Center, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
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21
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Dump the "dimorphism": Comprehensive synthesis of human brain studies reveals few male-female differences beyond size. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 125:667-697. [PMID: 33621637 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 142] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 01/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
With the explosion of neuroimaging, differences between male and female brains have been exhaustively analyzed. Here we synthesize three decades of human MRI and postmortem data, emphasizing meta-analyses and other large studies, which collectively reveal few reliable sex/gender differences and a history of unreplicated claims. Males' brains are larger than females' from birth, stabilizing around 11 % in adults. This size difference accounts for other reproducible findings: higher white/gray matter ratio, intra- versus interhemispheric connectivity, and regional cortical and subcortical volumes in males. But when structural and lateralization differences are present independent of size, sex/gender explains only about 1% of total variance. Connectome differences and multivariate sex/gender prediction are largely based on brain size, and perform poorly across diverse populations. Task-based fMRI has especially failed to find reproducible activation differences between men and women in verbal, spatial or emotion processing due to high rates of false discovery. Overall, male/female brain differences appear trivial and population-specific. The human brain is not "sexually dimorphic."
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22
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Bryant KL, Li L, Eichert N, Mars RB. A comprehensive atlas of white matter tracts in the chimpanzee. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000971. [PMID: 33383575 PMCID: PMC7806129 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are, along with bonobos, humans’ closest living relatives. The advent of diffusion MRI tractography in recent years has allowed a resurgence of comparative neuroanatomical studies in humans and other primate species. Here we offer, in comparative perspective, the first chimpanzee white matter atlas, constructed from in vivo chimpanzee diffusion-weighted scans. Comparative white matter atlases provide a useful tool for identifying neuroanatomical differences and similarities between humans and other primate species. Until now, comprehensive fascicular atlases have been created for humans (Homo sapiens), rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), and several other nonhuman primate species, but never in a nonhuman ape. Information on chimpanzee neuroanatomy is essential for understanding the anatomical specializations of white matter organization that are unique to the human lineage. Diffusion MRI tractography reveals the first complete atlas of white matter of the chimpanzee, with the potential to help understand differences between the organization of human and chimpanzee brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine L. Bryant
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Longchuan Li
- Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Nicole Eichert
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Rogier B. Mars
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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23
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Converging electrophysiological evidence for a processing advantage of social over nonsocial feedback. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 19:1170-1183. [PMID: 31313249 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-019-00737-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
We recently demonstrated a processing advantage of social versus nonsocial feedback stimuli in a western sample by assessing phase-locked neural responses. The current study extended our previous findings to another cultural sample (Chinese) to further test whether non-phase-locked neural oscillations also exhibit the social feedback processing advantage. Fifty-three Chinese volunteers performed a time estimation task with social and nonsocial feedback stimuli (matched for complexity) while electroencephalogram was recorded. Almost entirely replicating our previous results, feedback ERPs showed a processing advantage for social compared with nonsocial stimuli. Importantly, non-phase-locked oscillations also revealed this pattern. Frontal midline theta (FMΘ) oscillations differentiated between negative and positive feedback to a larger extent in response to social compared with nonsocial feedback. The current findings imply a rather universal effect of social stimulus characteristics during feedback processing and further corroborate the notion of social content as a distinct stimulus category.
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24
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Dhamala E, Jamison KW, Sabuncu MR, Kuceyeski A. Sex classification using long-range temporal dependence of resting-state functional MRI time series. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:3567-3579. [PMID: 32627300 PMCID: PMC7416025 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A thorough understanding of sex differences that exist in the brains of healthy individuals is crucial for the study of neurological illnesses that exhibit phenotypic differences between males and females. Here we evaluate sex differences in regional temporal dependence of resting-state brain activity in 195 adult male-female pairs strictly matched for total grey matter volume from the Human Connectome Project. We find that males have more persistent temporal dependence in regions within temporal, parietal, and occipital cortices. Machine learning algorithms trained on regional temporal dependence measures achieve sex classification accuracies up to 81%. Regions with the strongest feature importance in the sex classification task included cerebellum, amygdala, and frontal and occipital cortices. Secondarily, we show that even after strict matching of total gray matter volume, significant volumetric sex differences persist; males have larger absolute cerebella, hippocampi, parahippocampi, thalami, caudates, and amygdalae while females have larger absolute cingulates, precunei, and frontal and parietal cortices. Sex classification based on regional volume achieves accuracies up to 85%, highlighting the importance of strict volume-matching when studying brain-based sex differences. Differential patterns in regional temporal dependence between the sexes identifies a potential neurobiological substrate or environmental effect underlying sex differences in functional brain activation patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvisha Dhamala
- Department of RadiologyWeill Cornell MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Brain and Mind Research InstituteWeill Cornell MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Keith W. Jamison
- Department of RadiologyWeill Cornell MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Mert R. Sabuncu
- School of Electrical and Computer EngineeringCornell UniversityIthacaNew YorkUSA
- Meinig School of Biomedical EngineeringCornell UniversityIthacaNew YorkUSA
| | - Amy Kuceyeski
- Department of RadiologyWeill Cornell MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Brain and Mind Research InstituteWeill Cornell MedicineNew YorkNew YorkUSA
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25
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Mathew J, Masson GS, Danion FR. Sex differences in visuomotor tracking. Sci Rep 2020; 10:11863. [PMID: 32681071 PMCID: PMC7368072 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68069-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a growing interest in sex differences in human and animal cognition. However, empirical evidences supporting behavioral and neural sex differences in humans remain sparse. Visuomotor behaviors offer a robust and naturalistic empirical framework to seek for the computational mechanisms underlying sex biases in cognition. In a large group of human participants (N = 127), we investigated sex differences in a visuo-oculo-manual motor task that consists of tracking with the hand a target moving unpredictably. We report a clear male advantage in hand tracking accuracy. We tested whether men and women employ different gaze strategy or hand movement kinematics. Results show no key difference in these distinct visuomotor components. However, highly consistent differences in eye-hand coordination were evidenced by a larger temporal lag between hand motion and target motion in women. This observation echoes with other studies showing a male advantage in manual reaction time to visual stimuli. We propose that the male advantage for visuomotor tracking does not reside in a more reliable gaze strategy, or in more sophisticated hand movements, but rather in a faster decisional process linking visual information about target motion with forthcoming hand, but not eye, actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Mathew
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone UMR 7289, CNRS and Aix Marseille Université, Faculté de Médecine de la Timone, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.,Institute of Communication Technology, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue Georges Lemaitre 4-6 bte, 1348, Louvain-la-neuve, Belgium.,Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, 53 Avenue E Mounier, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Guillaume S Masson
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone UMR 7289, CNRS and Aix Marseille Université, Faculté de Médecine de la Timone, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Frederic R Danion
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone UMR 7289, CNRS and Aix Marseille Université, Faculté de Médecine de la Timone, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.
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26
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Elder J, Brieant A, Lauharatanahirun N, King-Casas B, Kim-Spoon J. Insular Risk Processing Predicts Alcohol Use Via Externalizing Pathway in Male Adolescents. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 2020. [PMID: 31790350 DOI: 10.15288/jsad.2019.80.602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Male adolescents exhibit greater impulsivity and externalizing symptomatology relative to female adolescents. Furthermore, externalizing symptomatology has been associated with greater alcohol use and differential anterior insula functioning. The current longitudinal study on adolescents examined whether activity in the anterior insula, when processing uncertain outcomes and representing risk, is directly associated with gender differences in later adolescent alcohol use frequency, as well as indirectly through externalizing symptomatology. METHOD Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined whether gender moderated these associations in a sample of 161 adolescents (53% male) with repeated annual measurements over 3 years. We monitored responding of a region implicated in risk processing during an economic lottery choice task involving uncertain outcomes. Self-reported externalizing symptomatology and alcohol use frequency were collected at all time points. RESULTS Results indicated that there was a significant indirect effect of anterior insula processing during the task at Time 1 on alcohol use at Time 3 through externalizing symptomatology at Time 2 for male, but not female, adolescents. Externalizing symptomatology predicted alcohol use for both male and female adolescents. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest gender differences in vulnerability to later alcohol use, specifically in terms of how a neurobiological susceptibility to risk insensitivity may disproportionately influence male adolescents' externalizing symptomatology. Male adolescents who do not effectively integrate risk-related signals are likely to engage in externalizing behaviors, which in turn are related to later alcohol use. Findings also suggest differential roles of risk-related brain function that contribute to gendered pathways to adolescent health-risk behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Elder
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.,Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California
| | - Alexis Brieant
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
| | - Nina Lauharatanahirun
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.,United States Army Research Laboratory, Human Resources and Engineering Directorate, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.,Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Brooks King-Casas
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.,Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Roanoke, Virginia
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27
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Hecht EE, Reilly OT, Benítez ME, Phillips KA, Brosnan SF. Sex differences in the brains of capuchin monkeys (Sapajus [Cebus] apella). J Comp Neurol 2020; 529:327-339. [PMID: 32410227 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Revised: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
This study reports an analysis of 20 T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans from tufted capuchin monkeys (5 male, 15 female). We carried out a data-driven, whole-brain volumetric analysis on regional gray matter anatomy using voxel-based morphometry. This revealed that males showed statistically significant expansion of a region of the hypothalamus, while females showed significant expansion in a distributed set of regions, including the cerebellum, early visual cortex, and higher-order visual regions spanning occipital and temporal cortex. In order to elucidate the network connectivity of these regions, we employed probabilistic tractography on diffusion tensor imaging data. This showed that the female-enlarged regions connect with distributed association networks across the brain. Notably, this contrasts with rodent studies, where sex differences are focused in deep, ancestral limbic regions involved in the control of reproductive behavior. Additionally, in our data set, for several regions, male and female volumetric measures were completely nonoverlapping. This contrasts with human studies, where sex differences in cortical regions have been reported but are characterized by overlapping rather than divergent male and female values. We suggest that these results can be understood in the context of the different lifetime experiences of males and females, which may produce increased experience-dependent cortical plasticity in capuchins compared to rodents, and in humans compared to capuchins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin E Hecht
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Olivia T Reilly
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.,Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Marcela E Benítez
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.,Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.,Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Kimberley A Phillips
- Department of Psychology, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, USA.,Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Sarah F Brosnan
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.,Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.,Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.,Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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28
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Duchesne A, Pletzer B, Pavlova MA, Lai MC, Einstein G. Editorial: Bridging Gaps Between Sex and Gender in Neurosciences. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:561. [PMID: 32595445 PMCID: PMC7301887 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Annie Duchesne
- Department of Psychology, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
| | - Belinda Pletzer
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.,Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Meng-Chuan Lai
- Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health, Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre, and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry and Autism Research Unit, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Gillian Einstein
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Gender Studies, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.,Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration and Aging, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Chair in Women's Brain Health and Aging, Toronto, ON, Canada
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29
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Abstract
This article presents new evidence on the crime-reducing impacts of a high-quality, intensive early childhood program with long-term follow-up, evaluated by a randomized controlled trial. Proportionately, more women than men decrease their criminal activity after participating in the program. This gender difference arises because of the worse home environments for girls, with corresponding greater scope for improvement by the program. For both genders, treatment effects are larger for the least-advantaged children, as measured by their mother's education at baseline. The dollar value of the social cost of criminal activity averted is higher for men because they commit more costly violent crimes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Luis García
- John E. Walker Department of Economics, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina; Leonard D. Schaeffer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Social Science Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - James J Heckman
- Department of Economics, University of Chicago, and American Bar Foundation, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Anna L Ziff
- Department of Economics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
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30
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Pfabigan DM, Wucherer AM, Wang X, Pan X, Lamm C, Han S. Cultural influences on the processing of social comparison feedback signals-an ERP study. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 13:1317-1326. [PMID: 30395315 PMCID: PMC6277742 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Revised: 10/14/2018] [Accepted: 10/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
This study investigated cultural differences regarding social connectedness in association with social vs non-social comparison feedback. We performed electroencephalography in 54 Chinese and 49 Western adults while they performed a time estimation task in which response-accuracy feedback was either delivered pertaining to participants' own performance (non-social reference frame) or to the performance of a reference group (social reference frame). Trait interdependence and independence were assessed using a cultural orientations questionnaire. Applying a principal component approach, we observed divergent effects for the two cultural groups during feedback processing. In particular, Feedback-Related Negativity results indicated that non-social (vs social) reference feedback was more salient/motivating for Chinese participants, while Westerners showed the opposite pattern. The results suggest that Chinese individuals perceive a non-social context as more salient than a social comparison context, possibly due to their extensive experience of social comparisons in daily life. The reverse pattern was found in Western participants, for whom a social comparison context is less common and presumably more salient. The cultural differences in neural responses to social vs non-social feedback might be caused by culturally diverse cognitive traits, as well as by exposure to culturally defined behaviour on a systemic level-such as the education system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela M Pfabigan
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Anna M Wucherer
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Xuena Wang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Xinyue Pan
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Shihui Han
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
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31
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Ricketts EJ, Price RB, Siegle GJ, Silk JS, Forbes EE, Ladouceur CD, Harvey AG, Ryan ND, Dahl RE, McMakin DL. Vigilant attention to threat, sleep patterns, and anxiety in peripubertal youth. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2018; 59:1309-1322. [PMID: 29718535 PMCID: PMC6214801 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Vigilant attention to threat is commonly observed in anxiety, undergoes developmental changes in early adolescence, and has been proposed to interfere with sleep initiation and maintenance. We present one of the first studies to use objective measures to examine associations between vigilant attention to threat and difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep in an early adolescent anxious sample. We also explore the moderating role of development (age, puberty) and sex. METHODS Participants were 66 peripubertal youth (ages 9-14) with a primary anxiety disorder and 24 healthy control subjects. A dot-probe task was used to assess attentional bias to fearful relative to neutral face stimuli. Eye-tracking indexed selective attentional bias to threat, and reaction time bias indexed action readiness to threat. Sleep was assessed via actigraphy (e.g. sleep onset delay, wake after sleep onset, etc.), parent report (Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire), and child report (Sleep Self-Report). The Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale assessed anxiety severity. RESULTS Eye-tracking initial threat fixation bias (β = .33, p = .001) and threat dwell time bias (β = .22, p = .041) were positively associated with sleep onset latency. Reaction time bias was positively associated with wake after sleep onset (β = .24, p = .026) and parent-reported sleep disturbance (β = .25, p = .019). Anxiety (severity, diagnosis) was not associated with these outcomes. Sex (β = -.32, p = .036) moderated the relation between initial threat fixation bias and sleep onset latency, with a positive association for males (p = .005), but not for females (p = .289). Age and pubertal status did not moderate effects. CONCLUSIONS Vigilant attention to threat is related to longer sleep onset and reduced sleep maintenance. These associations are not stronger in early adolescents with anxiety. Implications for early intervention or prevention that targets vigilant attention to threat to impact sleep disturbance, and vice versa, are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Neal D. Ryan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh
| | - Ronald E. Dahl
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, USA
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32
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Takahashi K, Hosoya T, Onoe K, Takashima T, Tanaka M, Ishii A, Nakatomi Y, Tazawa S, Takahashi K, Doi H, Wada Y, Watanabe Y. Association between aromatase in human brains and personality traits. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16841. [PMID: 30442903 PMCID: PMC6237866 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35065-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Aromatase, an enzyme that converts androgens to estrogens, has been reported to be involved in several brain functions, including synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis, neuroprotection, and regulation of sexual and emotional behaviours in rodents, pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease and autism spectrum disorders in humans. Aromatase has been reported to be involved in aggressive behaviours in genetically modified mice and in personality traits by genotyping studies on humans. However, no study has investigated the relationship between aromatase in living brains and personality traits including aggression. We performed a positron emission tomography (PET) study in 21 healthy subjects using 11C-cetrozole, which has high selectivity and affinity for aromatase. Before performing PET scans, subjects answered the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and Temperament and Character Inventory to measure their aggression and personality traits, respectively. A strong accumulation of 11C-cetrozole was detected in the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and medulla. Females showed associations between aromatase levels in subcortical regions, such as the amygdala and supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus, and personality traits such as aggression, novelty seeking, and self-transcendence. In contrast, males exhibited associations between aromatase levels in the cortices and harm avoidance, persistence, and self-transcendence. The association of aromatase levels in the thalamus with cooperativeness was common to both sexes. The present study suggests that there might exist associations between aromatase in the brain and personality traits. Some of these associations may differ between sexes, while others are likely common to both.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayo Takahashi
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan
| | - Takamitsu Hosoya
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, (TMDU), 2-3-10 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-0062, Japan
| | - Kayo Onoe
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Tadayuki Takashima
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Masaaki Tanaka
- Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan
| | - Akira Ishii
- Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan
| | - Yasuhito Nakatomi
- Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan.,Department of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan
| | - Shusaku Tazawa
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Kazuhiro Takahashi
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Hisashi Doi
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Wada
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.,Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan
| | - Yasuyoshi Watanabe
- RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan. .,RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan. .,Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan.
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33
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Melero H, Borromeo S, Cristobal-Huerta A, Manzanedo E, Luna G, Toledano A, Hernández-Tamames JA. Sex Differences in the Olfactory System: a Functional MRI Study. CHEMOSENS PERCEPT 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s12078-018-9250-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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34
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Internal control beliefs and reference frame concurrently impact early performance monitoring ERPs. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2018; 18:778-795. [PMID: 29761375 PMCID: PMC6096653 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-0604-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated the impact of criterion-based vs. social reference frames on behavioural and neural correlates of performance monitoring while taking individual differences in control beliefs into account. We conducted two experiments administering a time estimation task in which feedback was either delivered pertaining to participants’ own performance (nonsocial/criterion-based reference) or to the performance of a reference group of previous participants (social reference). In Experiment 1, 34 male volunteers participated. To test generalizability of the observed results to both sexes/genders, we recruited 36 female volunteers for Experiment 2. P2 and P300 amplitudes were generally larger in social than in nonsocial reference trials in the male participants of Experiment 1. ΔFRN amplitudes were larger for social compared to non-social reference trials in Experiment 1. No effects of reference frame were found in the female sample of Experiment 2. Rather, P2 and ΔFRN effects showed opposing patterns for nonsocial versus social reference frames. However, stronger internal control beliefs were accompanied by larger FRN amplitudes of negative social reference trials in both samples, suggesting generalizable effects independent of sex/gender. Enhanced P2 and ΔFRN amplitudes for social versus nonsocial reference trials suggest enhanced attentional capture and higher saliency of socially framed feedback in male participants only. In both sexes/genders, however, the social reference frame possibly challenges internal control beliefs and by this enhances performance monitoring. Our results demonstrate the complex interplay of trait variables and reference frames during performance monitoring influencing our daily lives-reference frames are omnipresent in education and one’s working environment.
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35
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David SP, Naudet F, Laude J, Radua J, Fusar-Poli P, Chu I, Stefanick ML, Ioannidis JPA. Potential Reporting Bias in Neuroimaging Studies of Sex Differences. Sci Rep 2018; 8:6082. [PMID: 29666377 PMCID: PMC5904173 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23976-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2017] [Accepted: 03/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have reported sex differences. To empirically evaluate for evidence of excessive significance bias in this literature, we searched for published fMRI studies of human brain to evaluate sex differences, regardless of the topic investigated, in Medline and Scopus over 10 years. We analyzed the prevalence of conclusions in favor of sex differences and the correlation between study sample sizes and number of significant foci identified. In the absence of bias, larger studies (better powered) should identify a larger number of significant foci. Across 179 papers, median sample size was n = 32 (interquartile range 23-47.5). A median of 5 foci related to sex differences were reported (interquartile range, 2-9.5). Few articles (n = 2) had titles focused on no differences or on similarities (n = 3) between sexes. Overall, 158 papers (88%) reached "positive" conclusions in their abstract and presented some foci related to sex differences. There was no statistically significant relationship between sample size and the number of foci (-0.048% increase for every 10 participants, p = 0.63). The extremely high prevalence of "positive" results and the lack of the expected relationship between sample size and the number of discovered foci reflect probable reporting bias and excess significance bias in this literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean P David
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA.
- Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS), Stanford University, Stanford, USA.
| | - Florian Naudet
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA
- Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS), Stanford University, Stanford, USA
| | - Jennifer Laude
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA
| | - Joaquim Radua
- Early Psychosis: Interventions & Clinical-detection (EPIC) lab, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
- FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalaries, CIBERSAM, Saint Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
- Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Paolo Fusar-Poli
- Early Psychosis: Interventions & Clinical-detection (EPIC) lab, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
- OASIS team, South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Isabella Chu
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA
| | - Marcia L Stefanick
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA
| | - John P A Ioannidis
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA
- Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS), Stanford University, Stanford, USA
- Departments of Health Research and Policy, of Biomedical Data Science, and of Statistics, Stanford University, Stanford, USA
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36
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Abstract
Examining sex differences in the brain has been historically contentious but is nonetheless important for advancing mental health for both girls and boys. Unfortunately, females in biomedical research remain underrepresented in most mental health conditions including autism spectrum disorders (ASD), even though equal inclusion of females would improve treatment for girls and yield benefits to boys. This review examines sex differences in the relationship between neuroanatomy and neurogenetics of ASD. Recent findings reveal that girls diagnosed with ASD exhibit more intellectual and behavioral problems compared to their male counterparts, suggesting that girls may be less likely diagnosed in the absence of such problems or that they require a higher mutational load to meet the diagnostic criteria. Thus far, the female biased effect of chromosome 4, 5p15.33, 8p, 9p24.1, 11p12-13, 15q, and Xp22.3 and the male biased effect of 1p31.3, 5q12.3, 7q, 9q33.3, 11q13.4, 13q33.3, 16p11.2, 17q11-21, Xp22.33/Yp11.31, DRD1, NLGN3, MAOA, and SHANK1 deletion have been discovered in ASD. The SNPs of genes such as RYR2, UPP2, and the androgen receptor gene have been shown to have sex-biasing factors in both girls and boys diagnosed with ASD. These sex-related genetic factors may drive sex differences in the neuroanatomy of these girls and boys, including abnormal enlargement in temporal gray and white matter volumes, and atypical reduction in cerebellar gray matter volumes and corpus callosum fibers projecting to the anterior frontal cortex in ASD girls relative to boys. Such factors may also be responsible for the attenuation of brain sexual differentiation in adult men and women with ASD; however, much remains to be uncovered or replicated. Future research should leverage further the association between neuroanatomy and genetics in girls for an integrated and interdisciplinary understanding of ASD.
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37
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Zhang F, Xiao L, Gu R. Does Gender Matter in the Relationship between Anxiety and Decision-Making? Front Psychol 2017; 8:2231. [PMID: 29312077 PMCID: PMC5742200 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2017] [Accepted: 12/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
There is an ongoing debate about whether and how anxiety level affects behavioral performance in risk and/or ambiguous decision-making. According to the literature, we suggest that gender difference might be a confounding factor that has contributed to heterogeneous findings in previous studies. To examine this idea, 135 students who participated in this study were divided into six groups according to their gender (male/female) and trait anxiety level (high/medium/low; measured by the Trait form of Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). All groups finished the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) for ambiguous decision-making, and the Game of Dice Task (GDT) for risk decision-making. Behavioral results revealed that the IGT but not the GDT showed an interaction between anxiety and gender. Specifically, men outperformed women in the IGT, but only when their trait anxiety levels were low. Meanwhile, the GDT showed a main effect of anxiety grouping, such that low anxious participants were more risk-seeking than their medium anxious counterparts. These findings indicate that gender selectively modulates the influence of anxiety on ambiguous decision-making, but not risk decision-making. The theoretical and practical implications of the current findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fenghua Zhang
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
- Key Laboratory of Psychology and Cognition Science of Jiangxi, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Leifeng Xiao
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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38
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Kurth F, Jancke L, Luders E. Sexual dimorphism of Broca's region: More gray matter in female brains in Brodmann areas 44 and 45. J Neurosci Res 2017; 95:626-632. [PMID: 27870461 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2016] [Revised: 07/17/2016] [Accepted: 08/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Although a sexual dimorphism in brain structure is generally well established, evidence for sex differences in Brodmann areas (BA) 44 and 45 is inconclusive. This may be due to the difficulty of accurately defining BA 44 and BA 45 in magnetic resonance images, given that these regions are variable in their location and extent and that they do not match well with macroanatomic landmarks. Here we set out to test for possible sex differences in the local gray matter of BA 44/45 by integrating imaging-based signal intensities with cytoarchitectonically defined tissue probabilities in a sample of 50 male and 50 female subjects. In addition to testing for sex differences with respect to left- and right-hemispheric measures of BA 44/45, we also assessed possible sex differences in BA 44/45 asymmetry. Our analyses revealed significantly larger gray matter volumes in females compared with males for BA 44 and BA 45 bilaterally. However, there was a lack of significant sex differences in BA 44/45 asymmetry. These results corroborate reports of a language-related female superiority, particularly with respect to verbal fluency and verbal memory tasks. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Kurth
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California
| | - Lutz Jancke
- Department of Neuropsychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,University Research Priority Program (URPP) "Dynamic of Healthy Aging," University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Eileen Luders
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California
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39
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Abraham A. Gender and creativity: an overview of psychological and neuroscientific literature. Brain Imaging Behav 2017; 10:609-18. [PMID: 26051636 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-015-9410-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The topic of gender differences in creativity is one that generates substantial scientific and public interest, but also courts considerable controversy. Owing to the heterogeneous nature of the findings associated with this line of research, the general picture often appears puzzling or obscure. This article presents a selective overview of psychological and neuroscientific literature that has a relevant bearing on the theme of gender and creativity. Topics that are explored include the definition and methods of assessing creativity, a summary of behavioral investigations on gender in relation to creativity, postulations that have been put forward to understand gender differences in creative achievement, gender-based differences in the structure and function of the brain, gender-related differences in behavioral performance on tasks of normative cognition, and neuroscientific studies of gender and creativity. The article ends with a detailed discussion of the idea that differences between men and women in creative cognition are best explained with reference to the gender-dependent adopted strategies or cognitive style when faced with generative tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Abraham
- School of Social, Psychological & Communication Sciences, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK.
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40
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Considering Sex as a Biological Variable Will Be Valuable for Neuroscience Research. J Neurosci 2017; 36:11817-11822. [PMID: 27881768 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1390-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2016] [Revised: 08/08/2016] [Accepted: 08/16/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The recently implemented National Institutes of Health policy requiring that grant applicants consider sex as a biological variable in the design of basic and preclinical animal research studies has prompted considerable discussion within the neuroscience community. Here, we present reasons to be optimistic that this new policy will be valuable for neuroscience, and we suggest some ways for neuroscientists to think about incorporating sex as a variable in their research.
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41
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Sex in Context: Limitations of Animal Studies for Addressing Human Sex/Gender Neurobehavioral Health Disparities. J Neurosci 2017; 36:11823-11830. [PMID: 27881769 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1391-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2016] [Revised: 09/02/2016] [Accepted: 09/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Many brain and behavioral disorders differentially affect men and women. The new National Institutes of Health requirement to include both male and female animals in preclinical studies aims to address such health disparities, but we argue that the mandate is not the best solution to this problem. Sex differences are highly species-specific, tied to the mating system and social ecology of a given species or even strain of animal. In many cases, animals poorly replicate male-female differences in brain-related human diseases. Sex/gender disparities in human health have a strong sociocultural component that is intimately entangled with biological sex and challenging to model in animals. We support research that investigates sex-related variables in hypothesis-driven studies of animal brains and behavior. However, institutional policies that require sex analysis and give it special salience over other sources of biological variance can distort research. We caution that the costly imposition of sex analysis on nearly all animal research entrenches the presumption that human brain and behavioral differences are largely biological in origin and overlooks the potentially more powerful social, psychological, and cultural contributors to male-female neurobehavioral health gaps.
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Tschernegg M, Neuper C, Schmidt R, Wood G, Kronbichler M, Fazekas F, Enzinger C, Koini M. FMRI to probe sex-related differences in brain function with multitasking. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0181554. [PMID: 28759619 PMCID: PMC5536366 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Accepted: 07/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Although established as a general notion in society, there is no solid scientific foundation for the existence of sex-differences in multitasking. Reaction time and accuracy in dual task conditions have an inverse relationship relative to single task, independently from sex. While a more disseminated network, parallel to decreasing accuracy and reaction time has been demonstrated in dual task fMRI studies, little is known so far whether there exist respective sex-related differences in activation. Methods We subjected 20 women (mean age = 25.45; SD = 5.23) and 20 men (mean age = 27.55; SD = 4.00) to a combined verbal and spatial fMRI paradigm at 3.0T to assess sex-related skills, based on the assumption that generally women better perform in verbal tasks while men do better in spatial tasks. We also obtained behavioral tests for verbal and spatial intelligence, attention, executive functions, and working memory. Results No differences between women and men were observed in behavioral measures of dual-tasking or cognitive performance. Generally, brain activation increased with higher task load, mainly in the bilateral inferior and prefrontal gyri, the anterior cingulum, thalamus, putamen and occipital areas. Comparing sexes, women showed increased activation in the inferior frontal gyrus in the verbal dual-task while men demonstrated increased activation in the precuneus and adjacent visual areas in the spatial task. Conclusion Against the background of equal cognitive and behavioral dual-task performance in both sexes, we provide first evidence for sex-related activation differences in functional networks for verbal and spatial dual-tasking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Tschernegg
- Institute of Psychology, Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Graz, Austria
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Christa Neuper
- Institute of Psychology, Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Reinhold Schmidt
- Department of Neurogeriatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Guilherme Wood
- Institute of Psychology, Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Martin Kronbichler
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Neuroscience Institute and Centre for Neurocognitive Research, Christian-Doppler-Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Franz Fazekas
- Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Christian Enzinger
- Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Divisions of Neuroradiology, Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Marisa Koini
- Department of Neurogeriatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- * E-mail:
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Abstract
Swayed by the clear distinction between male and female genitalia, the question of how far these categories extend into human biology has attracted humans for centuries. This question is sometimes being framed as whether the effects of sex are restricted to the genital organs or penetrate the entire organism. Here I argue that the two questions are not equivalent and that whereas the answer to the question, how far sex penetrates the body, is – deep down to the level of every cell, the answer to the question, how far the categories, “male” and “female”, do, is – probably nowhere beyond the genitals. That the two questions are often used interchangeably reflects the prevailing conceptualization of sex as a dichotomous system or process that exerts profound effects on other systems (e.g., the brain), leading to sexual dimorphism (i.e., two forms, male versus female) also of these systems. Here I discuss the question of whether the effects of sex result in dimorphic systems, focusing on the case of sex effects on the brain. I show that although there are sex/gender differences in brain and behavior, humans and human brains are comprised of highly variable ‘mosaics’ of features, some more prevalent in females, others more prevalent in males.
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Abstract
The issue of sex influences on the brain is rapidly moving center stage, driven by abundant results proving that subject sex can and regularly does alter, negate, and even reverse neuroscientific findings and conclusions down to the molecular level and thus can no longer be justifiably marginalized or ignored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larry Cahill
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-3800, USA.
| | - Dana Aswad
- Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-3800, USA
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Maney DL. Perils and pitfalls of reporting sex differences. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150119. [PMID: 26833839 PMCID: PMC4785904 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/15/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The idea of sex differences in the brain both fascinates and inflames the public. As a result, the communication and public discussion of new findings is particularly vulnerable to logical leaps and pseudoscience. A new US National Institutes of Health policy to consider both sexes in almost all preclinical research will increase the number of reported sex differences and thus the risk that research in this important area will be misinterpreted and misrepresented. In this article, I consider ways in which we might reduce that risk, for example, by (i) employing statistical tests that reveal the extent to which sex explains variation, rather than whether or not the sexes 'differ', (ii) properly characterizing the frequency distributions of scores or dependent measures, which nearly always overlap, and (iii) avoiding speculative functional or evolutionary explanations for sex-based variation, which usually invoke logical fallacies and perpetuate sex stereotypes. Ultimately, the factor of sex should be viewed as an imperfect, temporary proxy for yet-unknown factors, such as hormones or sex-linked genes, that explain variation better than sex. As scientists, we should be interested in discovering and understanding the true sources of variation, which will be more informative in the development of clinical treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donna L Maney
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
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McCarthy MM. Multifaceted origins of sex differences in the brain. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150106. [PMID: 26833829 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of sex differences in the brain range from reductionistic cell and molecular analyses in animal models to functional imaging in awake human subjects, with many other levels in between. Interpretations and conclusions about the importance of particular differences often vary with differing levels of analyses and can lead to discord and dissent. In the past two decades, the range of neurobiological, psychological and psychiatric endpoints found to differ between males and females has expanded beyond reproduction into every aspect of the healthy and diseased brain, and thereby demands our attention. A greater understanding of all aspects of neural functioning will only be achieved by incorporating sex as a biological variable. The goal of this review is to highlight the current state of the art of the discipline of sex differences research with an emphasis on the brain and to contextualize the articles appearing in the accompanying special issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret M McCarthy
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
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Tan A, Ma W, Vira A, Marwha D, Eliot L. The human hippocampus is not sexually-dimorphic: Meta-analysis of structural MRI volumes. Neuroimage 2016; 124:350-366. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.08.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2015] [Revised: 08/20/2015] [Accepted: 08/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
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Case SS, Oetama-Paul AJ. Brain Biology and Gendered Discourse. APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY-AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW-PSYCHOLOGIE APPLIQUEE-REVUE INTERNATIONALE 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/apps.12040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Susan S. Case
- Weatherhead School of Management; Case Western Reserve University; USA
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Tiedt HO, Beier KM, Lueschow A, Pauls A, Weber JE. A different pattern of lateralised brain activity during processing of loved faces in men and women: A MEG study. Biol Psychol 2014; 103:255-61. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2013] [Revised: 07/01/2014] [Accepted: 09/29/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Abstract
Gender differences in creativity have been widely studied in behavioral investigations, but this topic has rarely been the focus of neuroscientific research. The current paper presents follow-up analyses of a previous fMRI study (Abraham et al., Neuropsychologia 50(8):1906-1917, 2012b), in which behavioral and brain function during creative conceptual expansion as well as general divergent thinking were explored. Here, we focus on gender differences within the same sample. Conceptual expansion was assessed with the alternate uses task relative to the object location task, whereas divergent thinking was assessed in terms of responses across both the alternate uses and object location tasks relative to n-back working memory tasks. While men and women were indistinguishable in terms of behavioral performance across all tasks, the pattern of brain activity while engaged in the tasks in question was indicative of strategy differences between the genders. Brain areas related to semantic cognition, rule learning and decision making were preferentially engaged in men during conceptual expansion, whereas women displayed higher activity in regions related to speech processing and social perception. During divergent thinking, declarative memory related regions were strongly activated in men, while regions involved in theory of mind and self-referential processing were more engaged in women. The implications of gender differences in adopted strategies or cognitive style when faced with generative tasks are discussed.
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