Sex Differences in the Adult Human Brain: Evidence from 5216 UK Biobank Participants

Cerebral Cortex
Stuart J RitchieIan J Deary

Abstract

Sex differences in the human brain are of interest for many reasons: for example, there are sex differences in the observed prevalence of psychiatric disorders and in some psychological traits that brain differences might help to explain. We report the largest single-sample study of structural and functional sex differences in the human brain (2750 female, 2466 male participants; mean age 61.7 years, range 44-77 years). Males had higher raw volumes, raw surface areas, and white matter fractional anisotropy; females had higher raw cortical thickness and higher white matter tract complexity. There was considerable distributional overlap between the sexes. Subregional differences were not fully attributable to differences in total volume, total surface area, mean cortical thickness, or height. There was generally greater male variance across the raw structural measures. Functional connectome organization showed stronger connectivity for males in unimodal sensorimotor cortices, and stronger connectivity for females in the default mode network. This large-scale study provides a foundation for attempts to understand the causes and consequences of sex differences in adult brain structure and function.

References

Mar 14, 1997·Psychiatry Research·N LangeJ L Rapoport
Sep 14, 2000·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·B Fischl, A M Dale
Aug 25, 2001·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·Paul T CostaRobert R McCrae
Jun 11, 2003·Archives of General Psychiatry·Andre AlemanJean-Paul Selten
Oct 31, 2003·Magnetic Resonance in Medicine : Official Journal of the Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine·T E J BehrensS M Smith
Nov 25, 2003·Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines·Michael RutterTerrie E Moffitt
Dec 5, 2003·Cerebral Cortex·Bruce FischlAnders M Dale
Feb 18, 2004·IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging·Christian F Beckmann, Stephen M Smith
Apr 1, 2004·Cerebral Cortex·David H SalatBruce Fischl
Apr 23, 2004·Neuroradiology·P C SundgrenR Welsh
May 4, 2005·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Kevin N Ochsner, James J Gross
Aug 27, 2005·Human Brain Mapping·E LudersA W Toga
May 12, 2006·Nature Reviews. Neuroscience·Larry Cahill
May 17, 2006·Trends in Ecology & Evolution·Neil J GemmellFred W Allendorf
Apr 13, 2007·IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging·Florent SégonneBruce Fischl
Jul 28, 2007·The Behavioral and Brain Sciences·Rex E Jung, Richard J Haier
Jan 9, 2008·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·David P SchmittJüri Allik
Sep 27, 2008·Neuron·Tor D WagerKevin N Ochsner
Nov 29, 2008·Science·Stephen Machin, Tuomas Pekkarinen
Dec 20, 2008·Nature Reviews. Neuroscience·A D Bud Craig
Nov 4, 2009·Psychological Bulletin·Rong SuPatrick Ian Armstrong
Feb 24, 2010·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Bharat B BiswalMichael P Milham
Mar 26, 2010·Human Brain Mapping·Andrew T ReidRolf Kötter
May 6, 2010·Journal of Alzheimer's Disease : JAD·Jose Viña, Ana Lloret
May 18, 2010·European Neuropsychopharmacology : the Journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology·Martijn P van den Heuvel, Hilleke E Hulshoff Pol
Jul 14, 2010·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Annaliese K Beery, Irving Zucker
Mar 1, 2011·NeuroImage·Brian PatenaudeMark Jenkinson
May 27, 2011·Nature Neuroscience·Margaret M McCarthy, Arthur P Arnold
Jun 23, 2011·PLoS Biology·Simon Baron-CohenRebecca Knickmeyer
Jan 13, 2012·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Michael V LombardoSimon Baron-Cohen
Feb 16, 2012·Magnetic Resonance in Medicine : Official Journal of the Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine·Saad JbabdiTimothy E J Behrens
Apr 3, 2012·Lancet·Rory Collins
Jun 16, 2012·PloS One·Richard A KanaanPhilip K McGuire
Oct 11, 2012·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Daniel P Kennedy, Ralph Adolphs

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Dec 15, 2018·Human Brain Mapping·Florian KurthEileen Luders
Jan 15, 2019·Brain Structure & Function·G Ball, M L Seal
Feb 7, 2019·Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience·Lara M WierengaEveline A Crone
Apr 19, 2019·Advances in Physiology Education·Pâmela B Mello-CarpesMaria Cláudia Irigoyen
Aug 3, 2019·Journal of Neuroscience Research·Sahil Bajaj, William D S Killgore
Aug 30, 2019·Human Brain Mapping·Xiaonan GuoUNKNOWN MRC AIMS Consortium
Oct 3, 2019·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Johnny WangGennady V Roshchupkin
Jul 3, 2019·Biology of Sex Differences·Carla Sanchis-SeguraCristina Forn
Mar 10, 2020·Journal of Neuroscience Research·Mahima ShahEileen Luders
Sep 12, 2019·The Neuroscientist : a Review Journal Bringing Neurobiology, Neurology and Psychiatry·Daphna JoelDick Swaab
Sep 13, 2019·Cerebral Cortex·Min XuLi Hai Tan
Apr 22, 2020·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Alex R DeCasienJames P Higham
Jun 3, 2020·Cerebral Cortex·Natalie J FordeAristotle N Voineskos
Jun 9, 2020·Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics·Stella Fuensalida-NovoCésar Fernández-De-Las-Peñas
Jul 10, 2020·Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines·Delia A GheorgheSarah Bauermeister
Jul 21, 2020·Human Brain Mapping·Baptiste Couvy-DuchesnePeter M Visscher
Aug 11, 2020·Journal of Neuroscience Research·Behzad Sorouri KhorashadSven C Mueller
Sep 25, 2020·Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research·Jessica P Y HuaJohn G Kerns
Sep 29, 2020·Developmental Psychobiology·Ikuko Shinohara, Yusuke Moriguchi
May 21, 2019·Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Developmental Biology·Bruno Gegenhuber, Jessica Tollkuhn
Jun 12, 2019·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Ashlyn Swift-GallantDoug P VanderLaan
Sep 26, 2019·Nature Neuroscience·Tobias KaufmannLars T Westlye
Oct 13, 2019·Nature Communications·Christian L EbbesenMichael Brecht
Mar 25, 2020·Science Advances·Hannah KiesowDanilo Bzdok
Jul 22, 2020·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Siyuan LiuArmin Raznahan
Dec 19, 2018·Cell and Tissue Research·Jaanus Harro
Apr 27, 2019·Frontiers in Neuroscience·Nina de LacyVince D Calhoun
Feb 13, 2020·Molecular Psychiatry·Aldo Córdova-PalomeraLars T Westlye
Oct 4, 2020·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Linda L Chao
Aug 18, 2020·Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics·Ferdinand J O Boucher, Tudor I Chinnah
Feb 10, 2019·Scientific Reports·Martin LotzeNicola Neumann
Jan 29, 2019·Frontiers in Psychology·Anthony J Krafnick, Tanya M Evans

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.