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Sex differences in brain anatomy

Sex differences in brain anatomy. Background. Multiple reports of differences in brain size == male brains are bigger Some reports of regional differences supporting functions that show some gender differences (spatial performance, language)

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Sex differences in brain anatomy

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  1. Sex differences in brain anatomy

  2. Background • Multiple reports of differences in brain size == male brains are bigger • Some reports of regional differences supporting functions that show some gender differences (spatial performance, language) • Some reports of differing proportions of gray and white matter

  3. Nopolous, Flaum, O’Leary & Andreasen (2000) • “Sexual dimorphism in the human brain: evaluation of tissue volume, tissue composition and surface anatomy using magnetic resonance imaging” Psychiatry Research, Vol 98, pp 1-13.

  4. Problems with other work • Samples often small • Measurements usually on postmortem brains, often without access to important information about owner of the brain.

  5. Their work • Larger sample – 84 normal volunteers screened by advertisement in the newspaper • Matched for age, health, IQ, parent’s social class • Screened for medical and psychiatric conditions

  6. Very careful structure MRI

  7. Findings • Modest overall size difference (men had brains that were about 8% larger). • Female brain size correlated with height but male brain size didn’t. • Very little evidence for regional differences (one exception was right parietal lobe), but analysis was fairly gross • No differences in grey/white matter proportions

  8. Conclusions • The only reliable sex difference in matters of size is the overall increased size of brain in men • It is possible that increased brain size alone has no more functional import than other sex differences (nose and liver, for instance).

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