Fractionation of sex differences in human cortical anatomy.

ABSTRACT: Humans show reproducible sex differences in regional cortical volume (CV), but it remains unclear how these arise from underlying sex-biases in the two biologically dissociable determinants of CV: surface area (SA) and cortical thickness (CT). Moreover, limited access to experimental methods in humans has hindered direct studies of the causal drivers of regional sex differences in the human cortex, although rodent models have argued for both chromosomal and gonadal contributions to sex-biased mammalian cortical development. Here, we first use structural neuroimaging data in two independent human cohorts (combined N=1,754; 967 females) to quantify and spatially resolve the differential contributions of SA and CT to observed sex differences in CV. These dissociable facets of sex-biased corti

SUBMITTER: Lee HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12466778 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature