Warning: imagejpeg(C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\phplern\26621705
.jpg): Failed to open stream: No such file or directory in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 117 Proc+Natl+Acad+Sci+U+S+A
2015 ; 112
(50
): 15468-73
Nephropedia Template TP
gab.com Text
Twit Text FOAVip
Twit Text #
English Wikipedia
Sex beyond the genitalia: The human brain mosaic
#MMPMID26621705
Joel D
; Berman Z
; Tavor I
; Wexler N
; Gaber O
; Stein Y
; Shefi N
; Pool J
; Urchs S
; Margulies DS
; Liem F
; Hänggi J
; Jäncke L
; Assaf Y
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
2015[Dec]; 112
(50
): 15468-73
PMID26621705
show ga
Whereas a categorical difference in the genitals has always been acknowledged,
the question of how far these categories extend into human biology is still not
resolved. Documented sex/gender differences in the brain are often taken as
support of a sexually dimorphic view of human brains ("female brain" or "male
brain"). However, such a distinction would be possible only if sex/gender
differences in brain features were highly dimorphic (i.e., little overlap between
the forms of these features in males and females) and internally consistent
(i.e., a brain has only "male" or only "female" features). Here, analysis of MRIs
of more than 1,400 human brains from four datasets reveals extensive overlap
between the distributions of females and males for all gray matter, white matter,
and connections assessed. Moreover, analyses of internal consistency reveal that
brains with features that are consistently at one end of the
"maleness-femaleness" continuum are rare. Rather, most brains are comprised of
unique "mosaics" of features, some more common in females compared with males,
some more common in males compared with females, and some common in both females
and males. Our findings are robust across sample, age, type of MRI, and method of
analysis. These findings are corroborated by a similar analysis of personality
traits, attitudes, interests, and behaviors of more than 5,500 individuals, which
reveals that internal consistency is extremely rare. Our study demonstrates that,
although there are sex/gender differences in the brain, human brains do not
belong to one of two distinct categories: male brain/female brain.
free
free
free
