scholarly journals Dump the “dimorphism”: Comprehensive synthesis of human brain studies reveals few male-female differences beyond size

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lise Eliot ◽  
Adnan Ahmed ◽  
Hiba Khan ◽  
Julie Patel
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Brain Mri ◽  
Size Difference ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Female Brain ◽  
Brain Structure And Function ◽  
Size Task ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
And Function

With the explosion of neuroimaging, it is clear that sex/gender is a key covariate influencing brain structure and function. Here we synthesize three decades of human brain MRI and postmortem data, emphasizing meta-analyses and other large studies, but the result is few reliable sex/gender findings and many unreplicated claims. Males' brains are larger than females' from birth, stabilizing around 11% in adults. This size difference accounts for other reproducible male/female brain differences: gray/white matter ratio (larger in F), inter- versus intrahemispheric connectivity ratio (greater in F), and regional cortical and subcortical volumes (greater in M). However, regional cortical and subcortical sex/gender differences are highly unreliable and explain only about 1% of volume variance. Connectome studies of sex/gender difference are conflicted and rarely control from brain size. Task-based fMRI has also failed to find reproducible brain activation differences between men and women in verbal, spatial, or emotion processing due to high rates of false discovery. In sum, male/female brain differences are non-binary and trivial relative to the total variance across human populations. Properly speaking, the human brain is not sexually-dimorphic.

scholarly journals Mesoscopic Quantification of Cortical Architecture in the Living Human Brain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Faruk Gulban ◽  
Saskia Bollmann ◽  
Renzo Huber ◽  
Konrad Wagstyl ◽  
Rainer Goebel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Folded Structure ◽  
Mesoscopic Structure ◽  
Brain Structure And Function ◽  
Imaging Artifacts ◽  
Auditory Cortices ◽  
And Function ◽  
Accurate Quantification

Mesoscopic (0.1-0.5 mm) interrogation of the living human brain is critical for a comprehensive understanding of brain structure and function. However, in vivo techniques for mesoscopic imaging have been hampered by the sensitivity challenges of acquiring data at very high resolutions and the lack of analysis tools that can retain fine-scale detail while also accurately positioning measurements relative to the complex folded structure of the cerebral cortex. Here, we present an experimental dataset in which we image the anatomical structure of the visual and auditory cortices of five participants at 0.35 × 0.35 × 0.35 mm3 resolution. To analyze this challenging dataset, we design and implement two sets of novel methodology: a method for mitigating imaging artifacts related to blood motion and a suite of software tools for accurate quantification and visualization of the mesoscopic structure of the cortical surface. Applying these methods, we demonstrate the ability to clearly identify structures that are visible only at the mesoscopic scale, including cortical layers and intracortical blood vessels. We freely share our dataset and tools with the research community, thereby enabling investigations of fine-scale neurobiological structures in both the current and future datasets. Overall, our results demonstrate the viability of mesoscopic imaging as a quantitative tool for studying the living human brain.

scholarly journals Brain structural and functional alterations in MOG antibody disease

2020 ◽  
pp. 135245852096441
Author(s):  
Zhizheng Zhuo ◽  
Yunyun Duan ◽  
Decai Tian ◽  
Xinli Wang ◽  
Chenyang Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Brain Mri ◽  
Mean Diffusivity ◽  
California Verbal Learning Test ◽  
Stepwise Logistic Regression ◽  
Brain Structure And Function ◽  
Learning Test ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Impact

Background: The impact of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD) on brain structure and function is unknown. Objectives: The aim of this study was to study the multimodal brain MRI alterations in MOGAD and to investigate their clinical significance. Methods: A total of 17 MOGAD, 20 aquaporin-4 antibody seropositive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (AQP4 + NMOSD), and 28 healthy controls (HC) were prospectively recruited. Voxel-wise gray matter (GM) volume, fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and degree centrality (DC) were compared between groups. Clinical associations and differential diagnosis were determined using partial correlation and stepwise logistic regression. Results: In comparison with HC, MOGAD had GM atrophy in frontal and temporal lobe, insula, thalamus, and hippocampus, and WM fiber disruption in optic radiation and anterior/posterior corona radiata; DC decreased in cerebellum and increased in temporal lobe. Compared to AQP4 + NMOSD, MOGAD presented lower GM volume in postcentral gyrus and decreased DC in cerebellum. Hippocampus/parahippocampus atrophy associated with Expanded Disability Status Scale ( R = −0.55, p = 0.04) and California Verbal Learning Test ( R = 0.62, p = 0.031). The differentiation of MOGAD from AQP4 + NMOSD achieved an accuracy of 95% using FA in splenium of corpus callosum and DC in occipital gyrus. Conclusion: Distinct structural and functional alterations were identified in MOGAD. Hippocampus/parahippocampus atrophy associated with clinical disability and cognitive impairment.

Neuroimaging of Psychotic Disorders

2013 ◽  
pp. 256-268
Author(s):  
Stephan Heckers ◽  
Neil Woodward ◽  
Dost ÖNgür
Keyword(s):  
Schizoaffective Disorder ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Psychotic Disorders ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Brain Images ◽  
Brain Structure And Function ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
And Function

Neuroimaging studies of brain structure and function have significantly advanced our understanding of psychotic disorders by capturing the pathology with brain images. This chapter provides an overview of the neuroimaging studies of psychotic disorders (mainly schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder). This will focus on meta-analyses and comprehensive reviews, but will include some seminal studies that have shaped the current understanding of psychotic disorders. The ability to study brain structure and function repeatedly and to correlate it with cognitive and clinical outcomes are unique strengths of neuroimaging studies and will ensure a prominent position of this research methodology in the study of psychotic disorders.

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