scholarly journals Are sex differences in human brain structure associated with sex differences in behaviour?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liza van Eijk ◽  
Dajiang Zhu ◽  
Baptiste Couvy-Duchesne ◽  
Lachlan T Strike ◽  
Anthony J Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Weak Association ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Behavioural Sex Differences

On average, men and women differ in brain structure and behaviour, raising the possibility of a link between sex differences in brain and behaviour. But women and men are also subject to different societal and cultural norms. We navigated this challenge by investigating variability of sex-differentiated brain structure within each sex. Using data from the Queensland Twin IMaging study (N=1,040) and Human Connectome Project (N=1,113), we obtained data-driven measures of individual differences along a male-female dimension for brain and behaviour based on average sex differences in brain structure and behaviour, respectively. We found a weak association between these brain and behavioural differences, driven by brain size. These brain and behavioural differences were moderately heritable. Our findings suggest that behavioural sex differences are to some extent related to sex differences in brain structure, but that this is mainly driven by differences in brain size, and causality should be interpreted cautiously.

scholarly journals Are Sex Differences in Human Brain Structure Associated With Sex Differences in Behavior?

2021 ◽  
pp. 095679762199666
Author(s):  
Liza van Eijk ◽  
Dajiang Zhu ◽  
Baptiste Couvy-Duchesne ◽  
Lachlan T. Strike ◽  
Anthony J. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Behavioral Differences ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
Brain And Behavior ◽  
Using Data ◽  
And Behavior

On average, men and women differ in brain structure and behavior, raising the possibility of a link between sex differences in brain and behavior. But women and men are also subject to different societal and cultural norms. We navigated this challenge by investigating variability of sex-differentiated brain structure within each sex. Using data from the Queensland Twin IMaging study ( n = 1,040) and Human Connectome Project ( n = 1,113), we obtained data-driven measures of individual differences along a male–female dimension for brain and behavior based on average sex differences in brain structure and behavior, respectively. We found a weak association between these brain and behavioral differences, driven by brain size. These brain and behavioral differences were moderately heritable. Our findings suggest that behavioral sex differences are, to some extent, related to sex differences in brain structure but that this is mainly driven by differences in brain size, and causality should be interpreted cautiously.

scholarly journals The social brain in female autism: a structural imaging study of twins

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-436
Author(s):  
Élodie Cauvet ◽  
Annelies van’t Westeinde ◽  
Roberto Toro ◽  
Ralf Kuja-Halkola ◽  
Janina Neufeld ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Social Cognition ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Twin Design ◽  
The Social

Abstract A female advantage in social cognition (SoC) might contribute to women’s underrepresentation in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The latter could be underpinned by sex differences in social brain structure. This study investigated the relationship between structural social brain networks and SoC in females and males in relation to ASD and autistic traits in twins. We used a co-twin design in 77 twin pairs (39 female) aged 12.5 to 31.0 years. Twin pairs were discordant or concordant for ASD or autistic traits, discordant or concordant for other neurodevelopmental disorders or concordant for neurotypical development. They underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and were assessed for SoC using the naturalistic Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition. Autistic traits predicted reduced SoC capacities predominantly in male twins, despite a comparable extent of autistic traits in each sex, although the association between SoC and autistic traits did not differ significantly between the sexes. Consistently, within-pair associations between SoC and social brain structure revealed that lower SoC ability was associated with increased cortical thickness of several brain regions, particularly in males. Our findings confirm the notion that sex differences in SoC in association with ASD are underpinned by sex differences in brain structure.

Précis of Principles of Brain Evolution

2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg F. Striedter
Keyword(s):  
Brain Structure ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Brain Evolution ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Impact Function ◽  
Neuronal Connections ◽  
Rules And Principles ◽  
Using Data

Brain evolution is a complex weave of species similarities and differences, bound by diverse rules and principles. This book is a detailed examination of these principles, using data from a wide array of vertebrates but minimizing technical details and terminology. It is written for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and more senior scientists who already know something about “the brain,” but want a deeper understanding of how diverse brains evolved. The book's central theme is that evolutionary changes in absolute brain size tend to correlate with many other aspects of brain structure and function, including the proportional size of individual brain regions, their complexity, and their neuronal connections. To explain these correlations, the book delves into rules of brain development and asks how changes in brain structure impact function and behavior. Two chapters focus specifically on how mammal brains diverged from other brains and how Homo sapiens evolved a very large and “special” brain.

Development of a Pediatric Early Warning System Using Data-Driven Vital Signs

PEDIATRICS ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 137 (Supplement 3) ◽  
pp. 256A-256A
Author(s):  
Catherine Ross ◽  
Iliana Harrysson ◽  
Lynda Knight ◽  
Veena Goel ◽  
Sarah Poole ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning ◽  
Early Warning System ◽  
Vital Signs ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Using Data
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