Developmental sex differences in resting state functional connectivity of amygdala sub-regions

We investigated sex differences in the association between a measure of physical health, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and brain function using resting-state functional connectivity fMRI. We examined these sex differences in the default, frontoparietal control, and cingulo-opercular networks, assemblies of functionally connected brain regions known to be impacted by both age and fitness level. Healthy older adults ( n = 49; 29 women) were scanned to obtain measures of intrinsic connectivity within and across these 3 networks. We calculated global efficiency (a measure of network integration) and local efficiency (a measure of network specialization) using graph theoretical methods. Across all three networks combined, local efficiency was positively associated with CRF, and this was more robust in male versus female older adults. Furthermore, global efficiency was negatively associated with CRF, but only in males. Our findings suggest that in older adults, associations between brain network integrity and physical health are sex-dependent. These results underscore the importance of considering sex differences when examining associations between fitness and brain function in older adulthood. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We examined the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and resting state functional connectivity in several brain networks known to be impacted by age and fitness level. We found significant associations between fitness and measures of network integration and network specialization, but in a sex-dependent manner, highlighting the interplay between sex differences, fitness, and aging brain health. Our findings underscore the importance of considering sex differences when examining associations between fitness and brain function in older adulthood.

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Sex Differences in Brain Regions Modulating Pain Among Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Resting State Functional Connectivity Study

Pain Medicine ◽

10.1093/pm/pnx084 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Todd B. Monroe ◽

Roger B. Fillingim ◽

Stephen P. Bruehl ◽

Baxter P. Rogers ◽

Mary S. Dietrich ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Sex Differences ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Resting State ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Cross Sectional

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Robustness of sex-differences in functional connectivity over time in middle-aged marmosets

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-73811-9 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Benjamin C. Nephew ◽

Marcelo Febo ◽

Ryan Cali ◽

Kathryn P. Workman ◽

Laurellee Payne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Cognitive Flexibility ◽

Resting State ◽

Cognitive Aging ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Common Marmosets ◽

Time Points ◽

Prefrontal Cortical ◽

Age Related

Abstract Nonhuman primates (NHPs) are an essential research model for gaining a comprehensive understanding of the neural mechanisms of neurocognitive aging in our own species. In the present study, we used resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) to investigate the relationship between prefrontal cortical and striatal neural interactions, and cognitive flexibility, in unanaesthetized common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) at two time points during late middle age (8 months apart, similar to a span of 5–6 years in humans). Based on our previous findings, we also determine the reproducibility of connectivity measures over the course of 8 months, particularly previously observed sex differences in rsFC. Male marmosets exhibited remarkably similar patterns of stronger functional connectivity relative to females and greater cognitive flexibility between the two imaging time points. Network analysis revealed that the consistent sex differences in connectivity and related cognitive associations were characterized by greater node strength and/or degree values in several prefrontal, premotor and temporal regions, as well as stronger intra PFC connectivity, in males compared to females. The current study supports the existence of robust sex differences in prefrontal and striatal resting state networks that may contribute to differences in cognitive function and offers insight on the neural systems that may be compromised in cognitive aging and age-related conditions such as mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.

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Sex Differences in Re-experiencing Symptoms Between Husbands and Wives Who Lost Their Only Child in China: A Resting-State Functional Connectivity Study of Hippocampal Subfields

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnhum.2021.655044 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Yifeng Luo ◽

Yu Liu ◽

Zhao Qing ◽

Li Zhang ◽

Yifei Weng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Resting State ◽

Protective Role ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Only Child ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Neural Basis ◽

Hippocampal Subfields ◽

The Right

Background: Losing one’s only child may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), of which re-experiencing is the core symptom. However, neuroimaging studies of sex differences in re-experiencing in the context of the trauma of losing one’s only child and PTSD are scarce; comparisons of the functional networks from the hippocampal subfields to the thalamus might clarify the neural basis.Methods: Thirty couples without any psychiatric disorder who lost their only child (non-PTSD group), 55 patients with PTSD, and 50 normal controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The functional connectivity (FC) from the hippocampal subregions to the thalamus and the correlations of FC with re-experiencing symptoms were analyzed within and between the sexes.Results: Compared with husbands without PTSD, wives without PTSD had higher re-experiencing symptoms and weaker FC between the right hippocampal cornu ammonis 3 (RCA3) and the right thalamus (RT; RCA3-RT). Moreover, only the correlation between the RCA3-RT FC and re-experiencing in wives without PTSD was significant. Among the three groups, only the RCA3-RT FC in female subjects was markedly different. Additionally, the RCA3-RT FC in wives without PTSD was remarkably lower relative to female patients with PTSD.Conclusion: Wives without PTSD who lost their only child had worse re-experiencing symptoms relative to their husbands, which was associated with the FC alteration between the hippocampal subregions and the thalamus. Importantly, the low level of the RCA3-RT FC may play a potentially protective role against the development of PTSD in wives who have lost their only child.

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