Beyond sex differences: new approaches for thinking about variation in brain structure and function

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
Daphna Joel, Anne Fausto-Sterling

Abstract

In the study of variation in brain structure and function that might relate to sex and gender, language matters because it frames our research questions and methods. In this article, we offer an approach to thinking about variation in brain structure and function that pulls us outside the sex differences formulation. We argue that the existence of differences between the brains of males and females does not unravel the relations between sex and the brain nor is it sufficient to characterize a population of brains. Such characterization is necessary for studying sex effects on the brain as well as for studying brain structure and function in general. Animal studies show that sex interacts with environmental, developmental and genetic factors to affect the brain. Studies of humans further suggest that human brains are better described as belonging to a single heterogeneous population rather than two distinct populations. We discuss the implications of these observations for studies of brain and behaviour in humans and in laboratory animals. We believe that studying sex effects in context and developing or adopting analytical methods that take into account the heterogeneity of the brain are crucial for the advancement of human hea...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 3, 2016·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Margaret M McCarthy
Mar 10, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Daphna JoelJared Pool
Mar 18, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Daphna JoelZohar Berman
Jun 1, 2016·Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·Daphna Joel, Margaret M McCarthy
Jun 24, 2017·Nature Reviews. Neuroscience·Margaret M McCarthyKathryn M Lenz
Mar 16, 2018·Molecular Autism·Dorothea L FlorisAdriana Di Martino
Mar 16, 2019·Journal of Sex Research·Anne Fausto-Sterling
Feb 23, 2019·Journal of Neurotrauma·Raeesa GupteJanna Harris
Jul 3, 2019·Biology of Sex Differences·Carla Sanchis-SeguraCristina Forn
May 22, 2019·Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience·Yu Sun ChungMichael C Stevens
Sep 12, 2019·The Neuroscientist : a Review Journal Bringing Neurobiology, Neurology and Psychiatry·Daphna JoelDick Swaab
Oct 22, 2016·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·D HoopsJ S Keogh
Jun 30, 2019·Cerebral Cortex·Susanne WeisSimon B Eickhoff
Oct 1, 2016·Journal of Neuroscience Research·Marina A Pavlova
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Jul 17, 2020·Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience·Itztli Trejo-SánchezGabriel Gutiérrez-Ospina
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Oct 13, 2020·Human Brain Mapping·Lara M WierengaChristian K Tamnes
Feb 14, 2021·Brain Structure & Function·Esther K DiekhofOliver Gruber
Jan 14, 2021·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Daphna Joel
May 8, 2021·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience·Gina-Isabelle HenzeStefan Wüst

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