All sex differences in cognitive ability may be explained by an X-Y homologous gene determining degrees of cerebral asymmetry

1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Crow
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Y Chromosome ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Shift Factor ◽  
Mathematical Ability ◽  
Cerebral Hemispheres ◽  
Homologous Gene ◽  
Cerebral Asymmetry ◽  
The Right

AbstractMale superiority in mathematical ability (along with female superiority in verbal fluency) may reflect the operation of an X-Y homologous gene (the right-shift-factor) influencing the relative rates of development of the cerebral hemispheres. Alleles at the locus on the Y chromosome will be selected at a later mean age than alleles on the X, and only by females.

scholarly journals Sex differences in ability tilt in the right tail of cognitive abilities: A 35-year examination

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Wai ◽  
Matthew Makel
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Occupational Outcomes ◽  
Talented Students ◽  
The Right ◽  
High Level ◽  
Academically Talented Students ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Over Time

Sex differences in cognitive ability level and cognitive ability pattern or tilt (e.g., math > verbal) have been linked to educational and occupational outcomes in STEM and other fields. The present study examines cognitive ability tilt across the last 35 years in 2,053,221 academically talented students in the U.S. (SAT, ACT, EXPLORE) and 7,118 students in India (ASSET) who were in the top 5% to 0.01% of cognitive ability, populations that largely feed high level STEM and other occupations. Across all measures and samples, sex differences in ability tilt were uncovered, favoring males for math > verbal and favoring females for verbal > math. As ability tilt increased, so did sex differences in ability tilt. Additionally, sex differences in tilt increased as ability selectivity increased. Broadly, sex differences in ability tilt remained fairly stable over time, were consistent across most measures, and replicated across the U.S. and India. Across time, exceptions to the general trend were females increased their verbal tilt advantage over males, on the EXPLORE, males increased their math tilt advantage over females, and in the top 0.01% of ability on the SAT, the male math tilt advantage decreased over time. Such trends should be carefully monitored given their potential to impact future workforce trends.

Sex Differences in Childhood Associations between DNA Markers and General Cognitive Ability

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalind Arden ◽  
Nicole Harlaar ◽  
Robert Plomin
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Dna Markers ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
The Difference

Abstract. An association between intelligence at age 7 and a set of five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) has been identified and replicated. We used this composite SNP set to investigate whether the associations differ between boys and girls for general cognitive ability at ages 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, and 10 years. In a longitudinal community sample of British twins aged 2-10 (n > 4,000 individuals), we found that the SNP set is more strongly associated with intelligence in males than in females at ages 7, 9, and 10 and the difference is significant at 10. If this finding replicates in other studies, these results will constitute the first evidence of the same autosomal genes acting differently on intelligence in the two sexes.

scholarly journals Association between Hippocampal Volume and Working Memory in 10,000+ 9–10-Year-Old Children: Sex Differences

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 411
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
Shanika Boyce ◽  
Tanja Jovanovic
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Predictor Variable ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Hippocampal Volume ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Right

Aim: This study tested sex differences in the association between hippocampal volume and working memory of a national sample of 9–10-year-old children in the US. As the hippocampus is functionally lateralized (especially in task-related activities), we explored the results for the right and the left hippocampus. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study data. This analysis included baseline ABCD data (n = 10,093) of children between ages 9 and 10 years. The predictor variable was right and left hippocampal volume measured by structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI). The primary outcome, list sorting working memory, was measured using the NIH toolbox measure. Sex was the moderator. Age, race, ethnicity, household income, parental education, and family structure were the covariates. Results: In the overall sample, larger right (b = 0.0013; p < 0.001) and left (b = 0.0013; p < 0.001) hippocampal volumes were associated with higher children’s working memory. Sex had statistically significant interactions with the right (b = −0.0018; p = 0.001) and left (b = −0.0012; p = 0.022) hippocampal volumes on children’s working memory. These interactions indicated stronger positive associations between right and left hippocampal volume and working memory for females compared to males. Conclusion: While right and left hippocampal volumes are determinants of children’s list sorting working memory, these effects seem to be more salient for female than male children. Research is needed on the role of socialization, sex hormones, and brain functional connectivity as potential mechanisms that may explain the observed sex differences in the role of hippocampal volume as a correlate of working memory.

scholarly journals Sex differences in type and occurrence of adverse reactions to opioid analgesics: a retrospective cohort study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e044157
Author(s):  
Guilherme S Lopes ◽  
Suzette Bielinski ◽  
Ann M Moyer ◽  
Debra J Jacobson ◽  
Liwei Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Adverse Reactions ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Opioid Prescription ◽  
Biological Variable ◽  
The Right

ObjectivesSex as a biological variable affects response to opioids. However, few reports describe the prevalence of specific adverse reactions to commonly prescribed opioids in men and women separately. A large cohort was used to investigate sex differences in type and occurrence of adverse reactions associated with use of codeine, tramadol, oxycodone and hydrocodone.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingParticipants in the Right Drug, Right Dose, Right Time (RIGHT) Study.ParticipantsThe medical records of 8457 participants in the RIGHT Study who received an opioid prescription between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2017 were reviewed 61% women, 94% white, median age (Q1–Q3)=58 (47–66).Primary and secondary outcome measuresAdverse reactions including gastrointestinal, skin, psychiatric and nervous system issues were collected from the allergy section of each patient’s medical record. Sex differences in the risk of adverse reactions due to prescribed opioids were modelled using logistic regression adjusted for age, body mass index, race and ethnicity.ResultsFrom 8457 participants (of which 449 (5.3%) reported adverse reactions), more women (6.5%) than men (3.4%) reported adverse reactions to at least one opioid (OR (95% CI)=2.3 (1.8 to 2.8), p<0.001). Women were more likely to report adverse reactions to tramadol (OR (95% CI)=2.8 (1.8 to 4.4), p<0.001) and oxycodone (OR (95% CI)=2.2 (1.7 to 2.9), p<0.001). Women were more likely to report gastrointestinal (OR (95% CI)=3.1 (2.3 to 4.3), p<0.001), skin (OR (95% CI)=2.1 (1.4 to 3.3), p=0.001) and nervous system issues (OR (95% CI)=2.3 (1.3 to 4.2), p=0.004).ConclusionsThese findings support the importance of sex as a biological variable to be factored into pain management studies.

scholarly journals Sex differences in neural and behavioral signatures of cooperation revealed by fNIRS hyperscanning

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph M. Baker ◽  
Ning Liu ◽  
Xu Cui ◽  
Pascal Vrticka ◽  
Manish Saggar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Behavioral Signatures ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Brain And Behavior ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Researchers from multiple fields have sought to understand how sex moderates human social behavior. While over 50 years of research has revealed differences in cooperation behavior of males and females, the underlying neural correlates of these sex differences have not been explained. A missing and fundamental element of this puzzle is an understanding of how the sex composition of an interacting dyad influences the brain and behavior during cooperation. Using fNIRS-based hyperscanning in 111 same- and mixed-sex dyads, we identified significant behavioral and neural sex-related differences in association with a computer-based cooperation task. Dyads containing at least one male demonstrated significantly higher behavioral performance than female/female dyads. Individual males and females showed significant activation in the right frontopolar and right inferior prefrontal cortices, although this activation was greater in females compared to males. Female/female dyad’s exhibited significant inter-brain coherence within the right temporal cortex, while significant coherence in male/male dyads occurred in the right inferior prefrontal cortex. Significant coherence was not observed in mixed-sex dyads. Finally, for same-sex dyads only, task-related inter-brain coherence was positively correlated with cooperation task performance. Our results highlight multiple important and previously undetected influences of sex on concurrent neural and behavioral signatures of cooperation.

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