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. 2009 Nov 11;29(45):14265-70.
doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2261-09.2009.

Why sex matters: brain size independent differences in gray matter distributions between men and women

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Why sex matters: brain size independent differences in gray matter distributions between men and women

Eileen Luders et al. J Neurosci. .

Abstract

The different brain anatomy of men and women is both a classic and continuing topic of major interest. Among the most replicated and robust sex differences are larger overall brain dimensions in men, and relative increases of global and regional gray matter (GM) in women. However, the question remains whether sex-typical differences in brain size (i.e., larger male and smaller female brains) or biological sex itself account for the observed sex effects on tissue amount and distribution. Exploring cerebral structures in men and women with similar brain size may clarify the true contribution of biological sex. We thus examined a sample of 24 male and 24 female subjects with brains identical in size, in addition to 24 male and 24 female subjects with considerable brain size differences. Using this large set of brains (n = 96), we applied a well validated and automated voxel-based approach to examine regional volumes of GM. While we revealed significant main effects of sex, there were no significant effects of brain size (and no significant interactions between sex and brain size). When conducting post hoc tests, we revealed a number of regions where women had larger GM volumes than men. Importantly, these sex effects remained evident when comparing men and women with the same brain size. Altogether, our findings suggest that the observed increased regional GM volumes in female brains constitute sex-dependent redistributions of tissue volume, rather than individual adjustments attributable to brain size.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Sex differences in regional GM (main effect and subsamples). Displayed are maximum intensity projections superimposed onto the SPM standard glass brain template (sagittal and coronal view). a illustrates the main effect of sex (bidirectional). Statistical outcomes are corrected for multiple comparisons using FDR at p = 0.05. Shown are clusters exceeding a spatial extent threshold of 1000 voxels, which corresponds to the expected numbers of voxels per cluster. b–e illustrate the outcomes of the subsequent post hoc tests, where women have larger regional GM volumes than men (women > men). The illustrated spatial profiles are significant at p = 0.001 (uncorrected) without applying cluster extent thresholds.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Sex differences in regional GM (matched sample). Displayed are section views of the single subject SPM standard brain. The clusters indicate brain regions where the matched women had significantly larger GM volumes than the matched men. The color intensity represents t-statistic values at the voxel level. Statistical outcomes are corrected for multiple comparisons using FDR at p = 0.05. Shown are clusters exceeding a spatial extent threshold of 1000 voxels and the respective cluster-specific local maxima (see crosshairs), including their MNI coordinates. The results are presented in neurological convention (right is right).

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