Sex differences in the structural connectome of the human brain
- PMID: 24297904
- PMCID: PMC3896179
- DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1316909110
Sex differences in the structural connectome of the human brain
Abstract
Sex differences in human behavior show adaptive complementarity: Males have better motor and spatial abilities, whereas females have superior memory and social cognition skills. Studies also show sex differences in human brains but do not explain this complementarity. In this work, we modeled the structural connectome using diffusion tensor imaging in a sample of 949 youths (aged 8-22 y, 428 males and 521 females) and discovered unique sex differences in brain connectivity during the course of development. Connection-wise statistical analysis, as well as analysis of regional and global network measures, presented a comprehensive description of network characteristics. In all supratentorial regions, males had greater within-hemispheric connectivity, as well as enhanced modularity and transitivity, whereas between-hemispheric connectivity and cross-module participation predominated in females. However, this effect was reversed in the cerebellar connections. Analysis of these changes developmentally demonstrated differences in trajectory between males and females mainly in adolescence and in adulthood. Overall, the results suggest that male brains are structured to facilitate connectivity between perception and coordinated action, whereas female brains are designed to facilitate communication between analytical and intuitive processing modes.
Keywords: diffusion imaging; gender differences.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Figures
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Comment in
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Fundamental sex difference in human brain architecture.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Jan 14;111(2):577-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1320954111. Epub 2013 Dec 31. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014. PMID: 24381154 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
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On the mis-presentation and misinterpretation of gender-related data: the case of Ingalhalikar's human connectome study.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Feb 11;111(6):E637. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1323319111. Epub 2014 Jan 29. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014. PMID: 24477693 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
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Reply to Joel and Tarrasch: On misreading and shooting the messenger.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Feb 11;111(6):E638. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1323601111. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014. PMID: 24672815 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
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