scholarly journals Sex differences in the cognitive abilities of a sex-changing fish species Labroides dimidiatus

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 210239
Author(s):  
Zegni Triki ◽  
Redouan Bshary
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Control Task ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Labroides Dimidiatus ◽  
Assessment Task ◽  
Food Quantity ◽  
Learning Tasks ◽  
Relevant Task

Males and females of the same species are known to differ at least in some cognitive domains, but such differences are not systematic across species. As a consequence, it remains unclear whether reported differences generally reflect adaptive adjustments to diverging selective pressures, or whether differences are mere side products of physiological differences necessary for reproduction. Here, we show that sex differences in cognition occur even in a sex-changing species, a protogynous hermaphroditic species where all males have previously been females. We tested male and female cleaner fish Labroides dimidiatus in four cognitive tasks to evaluate their learning and inhibitory control abilities first in an abstract presentation of the tasks, then in more ecologically relevant contexts. The results showed that males were better learners than females in the two learning tasks (i.e. reversal learning as an abstract task and a food quantity assessment task as an ecologically relevant task). Conversely, females showed enhanced abilities compared with males in the abstract inhibitory control task (i.e. detour task); but both sexes performed equally in the ecologically relevant inhibitory control task (i.e. ‘audience effect’ task). Hence, sex-changing species may offer unique opportunities to study proximate and/or ultimate causes underlying sex differences in cognitive abilities.

3. Are there sex differences in intelligence?

2020 ◽  
pp. 39-49
Author(s):  
Ian J. Deary
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
National Longitudinal Survey ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
General Intelligence ◽  
Average Difference ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Cognitive Abilities Test

‘Are there sex differences in intelligence?’ considers the data sets from the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth from 1979, and the Cognitive Abilities Test 3 sample from 2001–3. All three studies show that there is little evidence of any average difference in intelligence between boys and girls, or young adults. However, for overall general intelligence, there are slightly more girls than boys in these samples around the average scores, and proportionately more males than females at the higher and lower extremes. Among the cognitive domains, a different pattern occurred for verbal reasoning: there were more girls at the higher scores.

Inhibitory control and receptive vocabulary influence aspect comprehension in children

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-151
Author(s):  
Andrew Blank ◽  
Rachael Frush Holt ◽  
Laura Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
World Knowledge ◽  
Linguistic Processing ◽  
Control Task ◽  
Lexical Information ◽  
Classic Pattern ◽  
Linguistic Aspect ◽  
Specific Cognitive Abilities

AbstractAlthough many researchers appeal to performance limitations to account for children’s non-adult-like use of language, few studies have explicitly linked specific cognitive abilities to specific dimensions of language. This study investigated a well-studied underextension in children’s language involving linguistic aspect and tested participants in an aspectual comprehension task as well as a series of assessments evaluating neurocognitive and linguistic skills. Adults (N = 32) and 5-year-old children (N = 32) participated. The results for the children replicated the classic pattern of underextension, with children showing an uneven pattern of success even though all items were equally grammatical. In addition, children’s skill with items that involved overriding lexical information in favor of morphological information was predicted by their performance on an inhibitory control task while children’s skill with items that involved integrating contextual world knowledge was predicted by their performance on a receptive vocabulary task. These results demonstrate how specific dimensions of linguistic processing are supported differentially and sensibly by specific dimensions of cognition.

Sex Differences in Variability in Vocational Interests: Evidence from Two Large Samples

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 568-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Paessler
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Vocational Interests ◽  
Gender Disparities ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Large Samples ◽  
Specific Analysis ◽  
Social Interests ◽  
Physical Attributes

Greater male variability has been established in cognitive abilities and physical attributes. This study investigated sex differences in variability in vocational interests with two large samples (N > 40 000 and N > 70 000). The results show that although men varied more in Realistic and Enterprising interests, women varied more in Artistic and Conventional interests. These differences in variability had considerable influence on the female–male tail ratios in vocational interests that have been found to contribute to reported gender disparities in certain fields of work and academic disciplines. Moreover, differences in means and variability interacted non–linearly in shaping tail–ratio imbalances. An age–specific analysis additionally revealed that differences in variability diminished with age: Older samples showed smaller differences in variance in Realistic, Artistic, and Social interests than younger samples. Thus, I found no evidence that greater male variability applies for vocational interests in general. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology

A Role for the X Chromosome in Sex Differences in Variability in General Intelligence?

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 598-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Johnson ◽  
Andrew Carothers ◽  
Ian J. Deary
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Mental Retardation ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Population Distribution ◽  
Population Variation ◽  
General Intelligence ◽  
Substantial Evidence ◽  
Normal Distributions ◽  
Intellectual Abilities

There is substantial evidence that males are more variable than females in general intelligence. In recent years, researchers have presented this as a reason that, although there is little, if any, mean sex difference in general intelligence, males tend to be overrepresented at both ends of its overall distribution. Part of the explanation could be the presence of genes on the X chromosome related both to syndromal disorders involving mental retardation and to population variation in general intelligence occurring normally. Genes on the X chromosome appear overrepresented among genes with known involvement in mental retardation, which is consistent with a model we developed of the population distribution of general intelligence as a mixture of two normal distributions. Using this model, we explored the expected ratios of males to females at various points in the distribution and estimated the proportion of variance in general intelligence potentially due to genes on the X chromosome. These estimates provide clues to the extent to which biologically based sex differences could be manifested in the environment as sex differences in displayed intellectual abilities. We discuss these observations in the context of sex differences in specific cognitive abilities and evolutionary theories of sexual selection.

scholarly journals Meta-analysis of epigenome-wide associations between DNA methylation at birth and childhood cognitive skills

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doretta Caramaschi ◽  
Alexander Neumann ◽  
Andres Cardenas ◽  
Gwen Tindula ◽  
Silvia Alemany ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Cord Blood ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Wide Range

ABSTRACTCognitive skills are a strong predictor of a wide range of later life outcomes. Genetic and epigenetic associations across the genome explain some of the variation in general cognitive abilities in the general population and it is plausible that epigenetic associations might arise from prenatal environmental exposures and/or genetic variation early in life. We investigated the association between cord blood DNA methylation at birth and cognitive skills assessed in children from eight pregnancy cohorts (N=2196-3798) within the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics (PACE) Consortium across overall, verbal and non-verbal cognitive scores. The associations at single CpG sites were weak for all of the cognitive domains investigated. One region near DUSP22 on chromosome 6 was associated with non-verbal cognition in a model adjusted for maternal IQ. We conclude that there is little evidence to support the idea that cord blood DNA methylation at single CpGs can predict cognitive skills and further studies are needed to confirm regional differences.

scholarly journals Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities Among Children With the Autosomal Dominant Alzheimer Disease Presenilin 1 E280A Variant From a Colombian Cohort

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. e2121697
Author(s):  
Joshua T. Fox-Fuller ◽  
Arabiye Artola ◽  
Kewei Chen ◽  
Margaret Pulsifer ◽  
Dora Ramirez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Alzheimer Disease ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Autosomal Dominant ◽  
Presenilin 1

scholarly journals Cognitive Capacity Genomewide Polygenic Scores Identify Individuals Resilient to Cognitive Decline in Aging 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoonjung Yoonie Joo ◽  
Jiook Cha ◽  
Jeremy Freese ◽  
M Geoffrey Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
European Ancestry ◽  
Memory Recall ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Polygenic Scores

Abstract The genetic underpinnings of cognitive resilience in aging remains unknown. Predicting an individual’s rate of cognitive decline—or cognitive resilience—using genetics will allow personalized intervention for cognitive enhancement and optimal selection of target samples in clinical trials. Here, using genome-wide polygenic scores(GPS) as the genomic indicators for variations of human intelligence, we examined the genetic liability of cognitive abilities in the behavioral/cognitive phenome to understand individual differences in cognitive capacity over time. Using the longitudinal sociogenomic data of 8,509 European-ancestry adults between the ages of mid-60s to 70s, we found that a higher cognitive GPS significantly correlated with a slower cognitive decline specifically in memory recall, but not in other cognitive domains. Linear mixed models with cognitive GPSs explained proportions of the variances in cognitive tests up to 60.4%. This study presents the novel genetic protective effects of cognitive ability on the decline of memory recall in aging population.

Sex differences in the right tail of cognitive abilities: A 30year examination

Intelligence ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 412-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Wai ◽  
Megan Cacchio ◽  
Martha Putallaz ◽  
Matthew C. Makel
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
The Right

scholarly journals Genetic Underpinnings of Increased BMI and Its Association With Late Midlife Cognitive Abilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 233372142092526
Author(s):  
Hong Xian ◽  
Brian Boutwell ◽  
Chandra A. Reynolds ◽  
Daphne Lew ◽  
Mark Logue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Risk Scores ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Memory Processing ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Bmi Trajectories ◽  
Multilevel Linear Regression

Objectives: First, we test for differences in various cognitive abilities across trajectories of body mass index (BMI) over the later life course. Second, we examine whether genetic risk factors for unhealthy BMIs—assessed via polygenic risk scores (PRS)—predict cognitive abilities in late-life. Methods: The study used a longitudinal sample of Vietnam veteran males to explore the associations between BMI trajectories, measured across four time points, and later cognitive abilities. The sample of 977 individuals was drawn from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging. Cognitive abilities evaluated included executive function, abstract reasoning, episodic memory, processing speed, verbal fluency, and visual spatial ability. Multilevel linear regression models were used to estimate the associations between BMI trajectories and cognitive abilities. Then, BMI PRS was added to the models to evaluate polygenic associations with cognitive abilities. Results: There were no significant differences in cognitive ability between any of the BMI trajectory groups. There was a significant inverse relationship between BMI-PRS and several cognitive ability measures. Discussion: While no associations emerged for BMI trajectories and cognitive abilities at the phenotypic levels, BMI PRS measures did correlate with key cognitive domains. Our results suggest possible polygenic linkages cutting across key components of the central and peripheral nervous system.

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