Conservation, acquisition, and functional impact of sex-biased gene expression in mammals

Sex differences abound in human health and disease, as they do in other mammals used as models. The extent to which sex differences are conserved at the molecular level across species and tissues is unknown. We surveyed sex differences in gene expression in human, macaque, mouse, rat, and dog, across 12 tissues. In each tissue, we identified hundreds of genes with conserved sex-biased expression—findings that, combined with genomic analyses of human height, explain ~12% of the difference in height between females and males. We surmise that conserved sex biases in expression of genes otherwise operating equivalently in females and males contribute to sex differences in traits. However, most sex-biased expression arose during the mammalian radiation, which suggests that careful attention to interspecies divergence is needed when modeling human sex differences.

SOBREDOTAÇÃO NO FEMININO, UM OXÍMORO ULTRAPASSADO? INCURSÃO PELO ESTADO DA ARTE

ResumoO estudo das questões de género também pode aparecer associado ao estudo dos alunos com altas habilidades e sobredotação. O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar uma revisão da literatura na área da temática das mulheres sobredotadas e talentosas, para perceber qual é o estado da arte e se este tópico ainda se revela atual e pertinente. Nesse sentido, foi realizada uma pesquisa na base de dados PSICINFO, utilizando dois descritores: gifted and talented girls e gifted and talented women, e três critérios cumulativos, utilizando os recursos e designações disponíveis na base de dados: a) período de pesquisa: referente aos últimos 5 anos (de 2011 a 2016); b) relevância, considerando o descritor: cinco estrelas; e c) revista com revisão de pares. Foram selecionados e analisados 13 estudos. Os dados foram organizados em função de categorias como: ano de publicação, revista, autores, objetivos, tipologia de investigação, participantes, instrumentos e resultados. As 3 categorias que emergiram em função dos objetivos dos estudos são: vivências de raparigas sobredotadas (4 estudos); perceções e produções diferenciadas em função do género (5 estudos); e, efeitos de intervenção em raparigas sobredotadas (4 estudos). Os dados permitem verificar a pertinência de investigar a temática.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Sobredotados; revisão de literatura; diferenças sexuais AbstractThe study of gender issues can also be associated with the study of gifted and talented students. The main goal of this paper was to conduct a literature review in the area of gifted and talented women to understand the state of the art and to clarify if this topic is still current and pertinent. In that sense, a research was done in the PSICINFO database, using two descriptors: "gifted and talented girls" and "gifted and talented women", and three cumulative criteria, using the available resources and designations in the database: a) research period: referring to the last 5 years (from 2011 to 2016); b) relevance, considering the descriptor: five stars; and c) reviewed with peer review. Thirteen studies were selected and analysed. The data were organised according to categories such as: year of publication, journal, authors, objectives, research typology, participants, instruments and results. Emerged 3 categories according to the objectives of the studies: experiences of gifted girls (4 studies); perceptions and productions differentiated according to gender (5 studies); and, intervention effects on gifted girls (4 studies). The data suggest the relevance of research on the subject.KEYWORDS: Gifted; literature review; human sex differences ResumenEl estudio de las cuestiones de género también puede aparecer asociado al estudio de los alumnos superdotados y talentosos. El principal objetivo de este trabajo fue realizar una revisión de la literatura en el área de la temática de las mujeres sobredotadas y talentosas, para percibir cuál és el estado del arte y si este tópico todavía se revela actual y pertinente. En este sentido, se realizó una investigación en la base de datos PSICINFO, utilizando dos descriptores: "gifted and talented girls" y "gifted and talented women", y tres criterios acumulativos, utilizando los recursos y las designaciones disponibles en la base de datos: a) período de investigación: para los últimos 5 años (de 2011 a 2016); b) relevancia, considerando el descriptor: cinco estrellas; y c) revisada con revisión de pares. Se seleccionaron y analizaron 13 estudios. Los datos fueron organizados en función de categorías como: año de publicación, revista, autores, objetivos, tipología de investigación, participantes, instrumentos y resultados. Las 3 categorías que surgieron en función de los objetivos de los estudios son: vivencias de chicas superdotadas (4 estudios); percepciones y producciones diferenciadas en función del género (5 estudios); y efectos de intervención en las niñas superdotadas (4 estudios). Los datos permiten verificar la pertinencia de investigar la temática.PALABRAS CLAVE: Superdotados; revisión de literatura; diferencias sexuales

Are Humans Peacocks or Robins?

Sociobiological approaches have made great inroads into psychological science over the last few decades. This hasn’t come without a fight. One of the main fronts on which the battle has been fought is the origins of human sex differences. Evolutionary psychologists have made a strong case that many basic sex differences in our species have an evolutionary origin; the case is now so strong, in fact, that it seems unreasonable to deny a significant evolutionary contribution. A question mark remains, however, over the relative magnitude of the evolved differences. Are we highly dimorphic, polygynous animals like peacocks? Or are we relatively monomorphic, pair-bonding animals like robins? In this chapter, I argue that we’re closer to the latter than the former - a fact that makes us somewhat anomalous among the animals. In many species, the males alone compete for mates and the females alone choose from among the males on offer. In our species, in contrast, both sexes compete for mates and both are choosy about their mates. Certainly, males compete more fervently and females are choosier, at least in early courtship and for low-commitment relationships. But the most conspicuous feature of the human mating system is mutual mate choice, coupled with relatively modest levels of overall dimorphism. Link to published version: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-handbook-of-evolutionary-perspectives-on-human-behavior/are-humans-peacocks-or-robins/83C55792A6FFB864AD46860FD0606692

Human Sex Differences in Emotion Prediction: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials

Women and men process emotion stimuli in different ways. Few of the previous researchers who have examined how emotion recognition differs between the sexes, looked at sex differences in emotion prediction. Thus, I investigated women's and men's perceptions of emotional faces in predictable and unpredictable conditions. Results showed that behaviorally, women's response accuracy was higher than men's. In contrast, neurally, men had greater P1 amplitudes for happy faces compared with angry faces in right hemisphere electrodes, suggesting that men have a perceptual bias toward happy faces. Further, women exhibited larger N170 amplitudes for predictable versus unpredictable angry faces in right hemisphere electrodes. This may reflect enhanced sensitivity to detecting anger. Finally, there was a significant positive correlation between behavioral and N170 predictability effects. This result may indicate that emotion prediction enhances neural responses while improving recognition efficiency at the behavioral level. In this respect, the electrophysiological results and behavioral data were consistent.