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Dorme A, Van Oudenhove B, Criel Y, Depuydt E, De Groote E, Stalpaert J, Huysman E, van Mierlo P, De Letter M. Effect of Healthy Aging and Gender on Syntactic Input Processing: A P600 Event-Related Potential Study. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2023:1-32. [PMID: 37494921 DOI: 10.1044/2023_jslhr-22-00633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate the effect of healthy aging and gender, as well as the interaction, thereof, on syntactic input processing during sentence comprehension. This was achieved through the recording of the P600 event-related potential. METHOD Sixty Flemish (native speakers of Dutch) participants (30 men and 30 women), equally distributed into three age groups (young, middle-aged, and older adults), were subjected to a visually presented word order violation task under simultaneous electro-encephalography recording. The task contained 60 sentences, of which half were grammatical and half contained a word order violation. P600 responses were analyzed for amplitude, latency, topographical distribution, and source localization. RESULTS Regarding the effect of healthy aging, no age-related differences were found for the amplitude, onset latency, and topographical distribution of the P600 effect (difference wave). Although aging effects on the P600 effect amplitude were absent, a reduced P600 amplitude in response to both the grammatical and ungrammatical sentences was found, next to a reduced overall degree of source activation in linguistic regions of interest. Also, a reduced behavioral accuracy in response to the word order violation was observed in the older adults group. Regarding the effect of gender, females exhibited a larger P600 effect amplitude and a reduced behavioral accuracy compared to males. No gender-related differences were found for P600 effect onset latency, topographical distribution, and source activation. CONCLUSIONS While this study demonstrates no effect of aging on the P600 effect, the lower behavioral response and absence of any activation shift argues against functional compensation. Moreover, although increased neural activation in women combined with their reduced behavioral accuracy may indicate the use of different cognitive strategies in men and women, source localization analysis could not objectify this hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annelien Dorme
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
| | | | - Yana Criel
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Emma Depuydt
- Medical Imaging and Signal Processing Group, Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University, Belgium
| | | | - Jara Stalpaert
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Eline Huysman
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Pieter van Mierlo
- Medical Imaging and Signal Processing Group, Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Miet De Letter
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
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2
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Fan J, Zhu Z, Chen Y, Yang C, Li X, Chen K, Chen X, Zhang Z. SORL1 rs1699102 Moderates the Effect of Sex on Language Network. J Alzheimers Dis 2023:JAD221133. [PMID: 37212098 DOI: 10.3233/jad-221133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Language ability differs between the sexes. However, it is unclear how this sex difference is moderated by genetic factors and how the brain interacts with genetics to support this specific language capacity. Previous studies have demonstrated that the sorting protein-related receptor (SORL1) polymorphism influences cognitive function and brain structure differently in males and females and is associated with Alzheimer's disease risk. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sex and the SORL1 rs1699102 (CC versus T carriers) genotype on language. METHODS 103 non-demented Chinese older adults from Beijing Aging Brain Rejuvenation Initiative (BABRI) database were included in this study. Participants completed language tests, T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resting-state functional MRI. Language test performance, gray matter volume, and network connections were compared between genotype and sex groups. RESULTS The rs1699102 polymorphism moderated the effects of sex on language performance, with the female having reversed language advantages in T carriers. The T allele carriers had lower gray matter volume in the left precentral gyrus. The effect of sex on language network connections was moderated by rs1699102; male CC homozygotes and female T carriers had higher internetwork connections, which were negatively correlated with language performance. CONCLUSION These results suggest that SORL1 moderates the effects of sex on language, with T being a risk allele, especially in females. Our findings underscore the importance of considering the influence of genetic factors when examining sex effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jialing Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhibao Zhu
- Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurology, Institute of Neuroscience, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Yaojing Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Caishui Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Kewei Chen
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Banner Alzheimer's Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Xiaochun Chen
- Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurology, Institute of Neuroscience, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Zhanjun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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3
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Meng D, Wang S, Wong PCM, Feng G. Generalizable predictive modeling of semantic processing ability from functional brain connectivity. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:4274-4292. [PMID: 35611721 PMCID: PMC9435002 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Semantic processing (SP) is one of the critical abilities of humans for representing and manipulating conceptual and meaningful information. Neuroimaging studies of SP typically collapse data from many subjects, but its neural organization and behavioral performance vary between individuals. It is not yet understood whether and how the individual variabilities in neural network organizations contribute to the individual differences in SP behaviors. We aim to identify the neural signatures underlying SP variabilities by analyzing functional connectivity (FC) patterns based on a large‐sample Human Connectome Project (HCP) dataset and rigorous predictive modeling. We used a two‐stage predictive modeling approach to build an internally cross‐validated model and to test the model's generalizability with unseen data from different HCP samples and other out‐of‐sample datasets. FC patterns within a putative semantic brain network were significantly predictive of individual SP scores summarized from five SP‐related behavioral tests. This cross‐validated model can be used to predict unseen HCP data. The model generalizability was enhanced in the language task compared with other tasks used during scanning and was better for females than males. The model constructed from the HCP dataset can be partially generalized to two independent cohorts that participated in different semantic tasks. FCs connecting to the Perisylvian language network show the most reliable contributions to predictive modeling and the out‐of‐sample generalization. These findings contribute to our understanding of the neural sources of individual differences in SP, which potentially lay the foundation for personalized education for healthy individuals and intervention for SP and language deficits patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danting Meng
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Suiping Wang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
| | - Patrick C M Wong
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.,Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Gangyi Feng
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.,Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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4
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Napolitano A, Schiavi S, La Rosa P, Rossi-Espagnet MC, Petrillo S, Bottino F, Tagliente E, Longo D, Lupi E, Casula L, Valeri G, Piemonte F, Trezza V, Vicari S. Sex Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Diagnostic, Neurobiological, and Behavioral Features. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:889636. [PMID: 35633791 PMCID: PMC9136002 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.889636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with a worldwide prevalence of about 1%, characterized by impairments in social interaction, communication, repetitive patterns of behaviors, and can be associated with hyper- or hypo-reactivity of sensory stimulation and cognitive disability. ASD comorbid features include internalizing and externalizing symptoms such as anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, and attention problems. The precise etiology of ASD is still unknown and it is undoubted that the disorder is linked to some extent to both genetic and environmental factors. It is also well-documented and known that one of the most striking and consistent finding in ASD is the higher prevalence in males compared to females, with around 70% of ASD cases described being males. The present review looked into the most significant studies that attempted to investigate differences in ASD males and females thus trying to shade some light on the peculiar characteristics of this prevalence in terms of diagnosis, imaging, major autistic-like behavior and sex-dependent uniqueness. The study also discussed sex differences found in animal models of ASD, to provide a possible explanation of the neurological mechanisms underpinning the different presentation of autistic symptoms in males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Napolitano
- Medical Physics Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Sara Schiavi
- Section of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Science Department, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Piergiorgio La Rosa
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Camilla Rossi-Espagnet
- Neuroradiology Unit, Imaging Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- NESMOS, Neuroradiology Department, S. Andrea Hospital Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Sara Petrillo
- Head Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Bottino
- Medical Physics Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Emanuela Tagliente
- Medical Physics Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela Longo
- Neuroradiology Unit, Imaging Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Lupi
- Head Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Casula
- Head Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanni Valeri
- Head Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Fiorella Piemonte
- Neuromuscular and Neurodegenerative Diseases Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Viviana Trezza
- Section of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Science Department, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Vicari
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- Life Sciences and Public Health Department, Catholic University, Rome, Italy
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Li L, Cui Z, Wang L. A More Female-Characterized Resting-State Brain: Graph Similarity Analyses of Sex Influence on the Human Brain Intrinsic Functional Network. Brain Topogr 2022; 35:341-351. [PMID: 35499628 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-022-00900-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
It remains unclear whether human species exhibits sexual dimorphism in brain activities, and how the dimorphisms associated with sex-characterized behaviors. Here, in a large dataset from Human Connectome Project, we investigated sex differences of resting-state network structure by using local and global network graph similarity analysis. The "typical male" and "typical female" resting-state networks were highly similar. However, we found significant inter-sex difference in all local brain networks compared with sex-label permutations. The global and many local network topologies showed significant higher intra-female similarity, while males' network topologies were more dissimilar to each other. Additionally, by using global graph similarity analysis, we found that female individuals whose brain network were more similar to the average pattern present lower social-related anger, lower social distress and better companionships, while similar effects were not detected for males. Our study confirms the existence of sex-related resting-state network topology. Female's intrinsic brain is closer to a typical pattern than male's, and they may more fulfill the "similarity breeds connection" principle in building social ties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leinian Li
- School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, 250013, Jinan, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhijun Cui
- State Key Lab of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, 100088, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Li Wang
- Curriculum and Teaching Materials Research Institution, People's Education Press, 100081, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
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6
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Lin Y, Ding H, Zhang Y. Unisensory and Multisensory Stroop Effects Modulate Gender Differences in Verbal and Nonverbal Emotion Perception. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2021; 64:4439-4457. [PMID: 34469179 DOI: 10.1044/2021_jslhr-20-00338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Purpose This study aimed to examine the Stroop effects of verbal and nonverbal cues and their relative impacts on gender differences in unisensory and multisensory emotion perception. Method Experiment 1 investigated how well 88 normal Chinese adults (43 women and 45 men) could identify emotions conveyed through face, prosody and semantics as three independent channels. Experiments 2 and 3 further explored gender differences during multisensory integration of emotion through a cross-channel (prosody-semantics) and a cross-modal (face-prosody-semantics) Stroop task, respectively, in which 78 participants (41 women and 37 men) were asked to selectively attend to one of the two or three communication channels. Results The integration of accuracy and reaction time data indicated that paralinguistic cues (i.e., face and prosody) of emotions were consistently more salient than linguistic ones (i.e., semantics) throughout the study. Additionally, women demonstrated advantages in processing all three types of emotional signals in the unisensory task, but only preserved their strengths in paralinguistic processing and showed greater Stroop effects of nonverbal cues on verbal ones during multisensory perception. Conclusions These findings demonstrate clear gender differences in verbal and nonverbal emotion perception that are modulated by sensory channels, which have important theoretical and practical implications. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16435599.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Lin
- Speech-Language-Hearing Center, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
| | - Hongwei Ding
- Speech-Language-Hearing Center, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences & Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
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7
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Scheuringer A, Harris TA, Pletzer B. Recruiting the right hemisphere: Sex differences in inter-hemispheric communication during semantic verbal fluency. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2020; 207:104814. [PMID: 32502896 PMCID: PMC7611590 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2020.104814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Revised: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 05/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Sex differences in cognitive functions are heavily debated. Recent work suggests that sex differences do stem from different processing strategies utilized by men and women. While these processing strategies are likely reflected in different brain networks, so far the link between brain networks and processing strategies remains speculative. In the present study we seek for the first time to link sex differences in brain activation patterns to sex differences in processing strategies utilizing a semantic verbal fluency task in a large sample of 35 men and 35 women, all scanned thrice. For verbal fluency, strategies of clustering and switching have been described. Our results show that men show higher activation in the brain network supporting clustering, while women show higher activation in the brain network supporting switching. Furthermore, converging evidence from activation results, lateralization indices and connectivity analyses suggests that men recruit the right hemisphere more strongly during clustering, but women during switching. These results may explain findings of differential performance and strategy-use in previous behavioral studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Scheuringer
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Ti-Anni Harris
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Belinda Pletzer
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
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8
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The neurobiology of sex differences during language processing in healthy adults: A systematic review and a meta-analysis. Neuropsychologia 2020; 140:107404. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Revised: 12/26/2019] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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9
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Yang Y, Tam F, Graham SJ, Sun G, Li J, Gu C, Tao R, Wang N, Bi HY, Zuo Z. Men and women differ in the neural basis of handwriting. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:2642-2655. [PMID: 32090433 PMCID: PMC7294055 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
There is an ongoing debate about whether, and to what extent, males differ from females in their language skills. In the case of handwriting, a composite language skill involving language and motor processes, behavioral observations consistently show robust sex differences but the mechanisms underlying the effect are unclear. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a copying task, the present study examined the neural basis of sex differences in handwriting in 53 healthy adults (ages 19–28, 27 males). Compared to females, males showed increased activation in the left posterior middle frontal gyrus (Exner's area), a region thought to support the conversion between orthographic and graphomotor codes. Functional connectivity between Exner's area and the right cerebellum was greater in males than in females. Furthermore, sex differences in brain activity related to handwriting were independent of language material. This study identifies a novel neural signature of sex differences in a hallmark of human behavior, and highlights the importance of considering sex as a factor in scientific research and clinical applications involving handwriting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China
| | - Fred Tam
- Physical Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Canada
| | - Simon J Graham
- Physical Sciences Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.,Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Guochen Sun
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Junjun Li
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chanyuan Gu
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ran Tao
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Nizhuan Wang
- Artificial Intelligence and Neuro-informatics Engineering (ARINE) Laboratory, School of Computer Engineering, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, China
| | - Hong-Yan Bi
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhentao Zuo
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,The Innovation Center of Excellence on Brain Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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10
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Xu M, Liang X, Ou J, Li H, Luo YJ, Tan LH. Sex Differences in Functional Brain Networks for Language. Cereb Cortex 2019; 30:1528-1537. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2019] [Revised: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Men and women process language differently, but how the brain functions to support this difference is poorly understood. A few studies reported sex influences on brain activation for language, whereas others failed to detect the difference at the functional level. Recent advances of brain network analysis have shown great promise in picking up brain connectivity differences between sexes, leading us to hypothesize that the functional connections among distinct brain regions for language may differ in males and females. To test this hypothesis, we scanned 58 participants’ brain activities (28 males and 30 females) in a semantic decision task using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We found marked sex differences in dynamic interactions among language regions, as well as in functional segregation and integration of brain networks during language processing. The brain network differences were further supported by a machine learning analysis that accurately discriminated males from females using the multivariate patterns of functional connectivity. The sex-specific functional brain connectivity may constitute an essential neural basis for the long-held notion that men and women process language in different ways. Our finding also provides important implications for sex differences in the prevalence of language disorders, such as dyslexia and stuttering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Xu
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
- Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Xiuling Liang
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
- Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518060, China
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Jian Ou
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
- Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518060, China
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Hong Li
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
- Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518060, China
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Yue-jia Luo
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
- Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Li Hai Tan
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
- Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518060, China
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11
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Sagiv SK, Bruno JL, Baker JM, Palzes V, Kogut K, Rauch S, Gunier R, Mora AM, Reiss AL, Eskenazi B. Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides and functional neuroimaging in adolescents living in proximity to pesticide application. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:18347-18356. [PMID: 31451641 PMCID: PMC6744848 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1903940116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We have reported consistent associations of prenatal organophosphate pesticide (OP) exposure with poorer cognitive function and behavior problems in our Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS), a birth cohort of Mexican American youth in California's agricultural Salinas Valley. However, there is little evidence on how OPs affect neural dynamics underlying associations. We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure cortical activation during tasks of executive function, attention, social cognition, and language comprehension in 95 adolescent CHAMACOS participants. We estimated associations of residential proximity to OP use during pregnancy with cortical activation in frontal, temporal, and parietal regions using multiple regression models, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. OP exposure was associated with altered brain activation during tasks of executive function. For example, with a 10-fold increase in total OP pesticide use within 1 km of maternal residence during pregnancy, there was a bilateral decrease in brain activation in the prefrontal cortex during a cognitive flexibility task (β = -4.74; 95% CI: -8.18, -1.31 and β = -4.40; 95% CI: -7.96, -0.84 for the left and right hemispheres, respectively). We also found that prenatal OP exposure was associated with sex differences in brain activation during a language comprehension task. This first functional neuroimaging study of prenatal OP exposure suggests that pesticides may impact cortical brain activation, which could underlie previously reported OP-related associations with cognitive and behavioral function. Use of fNIRS in environmental epidemiology offers a practical alternative to neuroimaging technologies and enhances our efforts to assess the impact of chemical exposures on neurodevelopment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon K Sagiv
- Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720;
| | - Jennifer L Bruno
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Joseph M Baker
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Vanessa Palzes
- Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Katherine Kogut
- Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Stephen Rauch
- Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Robert Gunier
- Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Ana M Mora
- Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Allan L Reiss
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Brenda Eskenazi
- Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
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12
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Baxter LC, Nespodzany A, Wood E, Stoeckmann M, Smith CJ, Braden BB. The influence of age and ASD on verbal fluency networks. RESEARCH IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS 2019; 63:52-62. [PMID: 32565886 PMCID: PMC7304570 DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2019.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The integrity and connectivity of the frontal lobe, which subserves fluency, may be compromised by both ASD and aging. Alternate networks often integrate to help compensate for compromised functions during aging. We used network analyses to study how compensation may overcome age-related compromised in individuals with ASD. METHOD Participants consisted of middle-aged (40-60; n=24) or young (18-25; n=18) right-handed males who have a diagnosis of ASD, and age- and IQ-matched control participants (n=20, 14, respectively). All performed tests of language and executive functioning and a fluency functional MRI task. We first used group individual component analysis (ICA) for each of the 4 groups to determine whether different networks were engaged. An SPM analysis was used to compare activity detected in the network nodes from the ICA analyses. RESULTS The individuals with ASD performed more slowly on two cognitive tasks (Stroop word reading and Trailmaking Part A). The 4 groups engaged different networks during the fluency fMRI task despite equivalent performance. Comparisons of specific regions within these networks indicated younger individuals had greater engagement of the thalamus and supplementary speech area, while older adults engaged the superior temporal gyrus. Individuals with ASD did not disengage from the Default Mode Network during word generation. CONCLUSION Interactions between diagnosis and aging were not found in this study of young and middle-aged men, but evidence for differential engagement of compensatory networks was observed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie C. Baxter
- Department of Neuroimaging Research, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, 350 W Thomas Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85013
| | - Ashley Nespodzany
- Department of Neuroimaging Research, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, 350 W Thomas Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85013
| | - Emily Wood
- Barrow Neurological Institute, Radiology, 85013, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Melissa Stoeckmann
- Barrow Neurological Institute, Radiology, 85013, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Christopher J. Smith
- Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, 2225 N 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85006
| | - B. Blair Braden
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, 976 S Forest Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281
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13
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LaCroix AN, Blumenstein N, Houlihan C, Rogalsky C. The effects of prosody on sentence comprehension: evidence from a neurotypical control group and seven cases of chronic stroke. Neurocase 2019; 25:106-117. [PMID: 31241420 PMCID: PMC6662577 DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2019.1630447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Both prosody and sentence structure (e.g., canonical versus non-canonical) affect sentence comprehension. However, few previous studies have examined a possible interaction between prosody and sentence structure. In adult controls we found a significant interaction: typical sentence prosody, versus list prosody, facilitated comprehension of only some sentence structures. In seven stroke patients, impaired attentional control was related to impaired comprehension with sentence prosody but not list prosody; impaired working memory was related to impaired comprehension with list prosody, but not sentence prosody. Thus, non-canonical sentence comprehension impairments in stroke patients may be modulated by prosody, based on a patient's cognitive abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianna N LaCroix
- a College of Health Solutions , Arizona State University , Tempe , AZ , USA.,b College of Health Sciences , Midwestern University , Glendale , AZ , USA
| | - Nicole Blumenstein
- a College of Health Solutions , Arizona State University , Tempe , AZ , USA
| | - Chloe Houlihan
- a College of Health Solutions , Arizona State University , Tempe , AZ , USA
| | - Corianne Rogalsky
- a College of Health Solutions , Arizona State University , Tempe , AZ , USA
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14
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Adolescent sex differences in cortico-subcortical functional connectivity during response inhibition. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2019; 20:1-18. [PMID: 31111341 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-019-00718-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Numerous lines of evidence have shown that cognitive processes engaged during response inhibition tasks are associated with structure and functional integration of regions within fronto-parietal networks. However, while prior studies have started to characterize how intrinsic connectivity during resting state differs between boys and girls, comparatively less is known about how functional connectivity differs between males and females when brain function is exogenously driven by the processing demands of typical Go/No-Go tasks that assess both response inhibition and error processing. The purpose of this study was to characterize adolescent sex differences and possible changes in sexually dimorphic regional functional connectivity across adolescent development in both cortical and subcortical brain connectivity elicited during a visual Go/No-Go task. A total of 130 healthy adolescents (ages 12-25 years) performed a Go/No-Go task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. High model-order group independent component analysis was used to characterize whole-brain network functional connectivity during response inhibition and then a univariate technique used to evaluate differences related to sex and age. As predicted and similar to previously described findings from non-task-driven resting state connectivity studies, functional connectivity sex differences were observed in several subcortical regions, including the amygdala, caudate, thalamus, and cortical regions, including inferior frontal gyrus engaged most strongly during successful response inhibition and/or error processing. Importantly, adolescent boys and girls exhibited different normative profiles of age-related changes in several default mode networks of regions and anterior cingulate cortex. These results suggest that cortical-subcortical functional networks supporting response inhibition operate differently between sexes during adolescence.
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15
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Onal Ertugrul I, Ozay M, Yarman Vural FT. Gender classification using mesh networks on multiresolution multitask fMRI data. Brain Imaging Behav 2019; 14:460-476. [PMID: 30671775 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-018-0021-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Brain connectivity networks have been shown to represent gender differences under a number of cognitive tasks. Recently, it has been conjectured that fMRI signals decomposed into different resolutions embed different types of cognitive information. In this paper, we combine multiresolution analysis and connectivity networks to study gender differences under a variety of cognitive tasks, and propose a machine learning framework to discriminate individuals according to their gender. For this purpose, we estimate a set of brain networks, formed at different resolutions while the subjects perform different cognitive tasks. First, we decompose fMRI signals recorded under a sequence of cognitive stimuli into its frequency subbands using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT). Next, we represent the fMRI signals by mesh networks formed among the anatomic regions for each task experiment at each subband. The mesh networks are constructed by ensembling a set of local meshes, each of which represents the relationship of an anatomical region as a weighted linear combination of its neighbors. Then, we estimate the edge weights of each mesh by ridge regression. The proposed approach yields 2CL functional mesh networks for each subject, where C is the number of cognitive tasks and L is the number of subband signals obtained after wavelet decomposition. This approach enables one to classify gender under different cognitive tasks and different frequency subbands. The final step of the suggested framework is to fuse the complementary information of the mesh networks for each subject to discriminate the gender. We fuse the information embedded in mesh networks formed for different tasks and resolutions under a three-level fuzzy stacked generalization (FSG) architecture. In this architecture, different layers are responsible for fusion of diverse information obtained from different cognitive tasks and resolutions. In the experimental analyses, we use Human Connectome Project task fMRI dataset. Results reflect that fusing the mesh network representations computed at multiple resolutions for multiple tasks provides the best gender classification accuracy compared to the single subband task mesh networks or fusion of representations obtained using only multitask or only multiresolution data. Besides, mesh edge weights slightly outperform pairwise correlations between regions, and significantly outperform raw fMRI signals. In addition, we analyze the gender discriminative power of mesh edge weights for different tasks and resolutions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mete Ozay
- Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
| | - Fatos T Yarman Vural
- Department of Computer Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
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16
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Yagi S, Galea LAM. Sex differences in hippocampal cognition and neurogenesis. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:200-213. [PMID: 30214058 PMCID: PMC6235970 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0208-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 180] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2018] [Revised: 08/29/2018] [Accepted: 08/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Sex differences are reported in hippocampal plasticity, cognition, and in a number of disorders that target the integrity of the hippocampus. For example, meta-analyses reveal that males outperform females on hippocampus-dependent tasks in rodents and in humans, furthermore women are more likely to experience greater cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease and depression, both diseases characterized by hippocampal dysfunction. The hippocampus is a highly plastic structure, important for processing higher order information and is sensitive to the environmental factors such as stress. The structure retains the ability to produce new neurons and this process plays an important role in pattern separation, proactive interference, and cognitive flexibility. Intriguingly, there are prominent sex differences in the level of neurogenesis and the activation of new neurons in response to hippocampus-dependent cognitive tasks in rodents. However, sex differences in spatial performance can be nuanced as animal studies have demonstrated that there are task, and strategy choice dependent sex differences in performance, as well as sex differences in the subregions of the hippocampus influenced by learning. This review discusses sex differences in pattern separation, pattern completion, spatial learning, and links between adult neurogenesis and these cognitive functions of the hippocampus. We emphasize the importance of including both sexes when studying genomic, cellular, and structural mechanisms of the hippocampal function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunya Yagi
- 0000 0001 2288 9830grid.17091.3eDepartment of Psychology, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3 Canada
| | - Liisa A. M. Galea
- 0000 0001 2288 9830grid.17091.3eDepartment of Psychology, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3 Canada
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17
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Etchell A, Adhikari A, Weinberg LS, Choo AL, Garnett EO, Chow HM, Chang SE. A systematic literature review of sex differences in childhood language and brain development. Neuropsychologia 2018; 114:19-31. [PMID: 29654881 PMCID: PMC5988993 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2018] [Revised: 04/01/2018] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The extent of sex differences in childhood language development is unclear. We conducted a systematic literature review synthesizing results from studies examining sex differences in brain structure and function relevant to language development during childhood. We searched PubMed and Scopus databases, and this returned a total of 46 published studies meeting criteria for inclusion that directly examined sex differences in brain development relevant to language function in children. The results indicate that: (a) sex differences in brain structure or function do not necessarily lead to differences in language task performance; (b) evidence for sex differences in brain and language development are limited; (c) when present, sex differences often interact with a variety of factors such as age and task. Overall, the magnitude of sexual dimorphism of brain developmental trajectories associated with language is not as significant as previously thought. Sex differences were found, however, in studies employing tighter age ranges. This suggests that sex differences may be more prominent during certain developmental stages but are negligible in other stages, likely due to different rates of maturation between the sexes. More research is needed to improve our understanding of how sex differences may arise due to the influence of sex hormones and developmental stages, and how these differences may lead to differences in various language task performance. These studies are expected to provide normative information that may be used in studies examining neurodevelopmental disorders that frequently affect more males than females, and also often affect language development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Etchell
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Aditi Adhikari
- College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Lauren S Weinberg
- College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Ai Leen Choo
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Georgia State University, USA
| | - Emily O Garnett
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Ho Ming Chow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Katzin Diagnostic & Research PET/MR Center, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE, USA
| | - Soo-Eun Chang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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18
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Cao J, Liu H, Alexandrakis G. Modulating the resting-state functional connectivity patterns of language processing areas in the human brain with anodal transcranial direct current stimulation applied over the Broca's area. NEUROPHOTONICS 2018; 5:025002. [PMID: 29531963 PMCID: PMC5827696 DOI: 10.1117/1.nph.5.2.025002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2018] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Cortical circuit reorganization induced by anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the Broca's area of the dominant language hemisphere in 13 healthy adults was quantified by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Transient cortical reorganization patterns in steady-state functional connectivity (seed-based and graph theory analysis) and temporal functional connectivity (sliding window correlation analysis) were recorded before, during, and after applying high current tDCS (1 mA, 8 min). fNIRS connectivity mapping showed that tDCS induced significantly ([Formula: see text]) increased functional connectivity between Broca's area and its neighboring cortical regions while it simultaneously decreased the connectivity to remote cortical regions. Furthermore, the anodal stimulation caused significant increases to the functional connectivity variability (FCV) of remote cortical regions related to language processing. In addition to the high current tDCS, low current tDCS (0.5 mA, 2 min 40 s) was also applied to test whether the transient effects of lower stimulation current could qualitatively predict cortical connectivity alterations induced by the higher currents. Interestingly, low current tDCS could qualitatively predict the increase in clustering coefficient and FCV but not the enhancement of local connectivity. Our findings indicate the possibility of combining future studies fNIRS with tDCS at lower currents to help guide therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianwei Cao
- University of Texas at Arlington and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Joint Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, Arlington, Texas
| | - Hanli Liu
- University of Texas at Arlington and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Joint Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, Arlington, Texas
| | - George Alexandrakis
- University of Texas at Arlington and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Joint Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, Arlington, Texas
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19
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Sugiura L, Hata M, Matsuba-Kurita H, Uga M, Tsuzuki D, Dan I, Hagiwara H, Homae F. Explicit Performance in Girls and Implicit Processing in Boys: A Simultaneous fNIRS-ERP Study on Second Language Syntactic Learning in Young Adolescents. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:62. [PMID: 29568265 PMCID: PMC5853835 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning a second language (L2) proceeds with individual approaches to proficiency in the language. Individual differences including sex, as well as working memory (WM) function appear to have strong effects on behavioral performance and cortical responses in L2 processing. Thus, by considering sex and WM capacity, we examined neural responses during L2 sentence processing as a function of L2 proficiency in young adolescents. In behavioral tests, girls significantly outperformed boys in L2 tests assessing proficiency and grammatical knowledge, and in a reading span test (RST) assessing WM capacity. Girls, but not boys, showed significant correlations between L2 tests and RST scores. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and event-related potential (ERP) simultaneously, we measured cortical responses while participants listened to syntactically correct and incorrect sentences. ERP data revealed a grammaticality effect only in boys in the early time window (100–300 ms), implicated in phrase structure processing. In fNIRS data, while boys had significantly increased activation in the left prefrontal region implicated in syntactic processing, girls had increased activation in the posterior language-related region involved in phonology, semantics, and sentence processing with proficiency. Presumably, boys implicitly focused on rule-based syntactic processing, whereas girls made full use of linguistic knowledge and WM function. The present results provide important fundamental data for learning and teaching in L2 education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Sugiura
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan.,Research Center for Language, Brain and Genetics, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masahiro Hata
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroko Matsuba-Kurita
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Minako Uga
- Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Welfare and Psychology, Health Science University, Yamanashi, Japan
| | - Daisuke Tsuzuki
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan.,Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ippeita Dan
- Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroko Hagiwara
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan.,Research Center for Language, Brain and Genetics, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Fumitaka Homae
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan.,Research Center for Language, Brain and Genetics, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
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20
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Hodgson JC, Hudson JM. Speech lateralization and motor control. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2018; 238:145-178. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
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21
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Elevated Levels of Atypical Handedness in Autism: Meta-Analyses. Neuropsychol Rev 2017; 27:258-283. [DOI: 10.1007/s11065-017-9354-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2016] [Accepted: 06/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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22
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Abstract
Self-regulated learning has been a widely researched subject for decades in educational psychology. Different instruments have been developed to understand learners' self-regulated learning in a specific subject domain. This study developed a measurement scale to assess English-as-a-foreign-language learners' self-regulatory capacity in English language learning and further examined the effects of gender on English-as-a-foreign-language learners' self-regulatory capacity. A series of psychometric analyses including exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and full structural equation modeling were undertaken to answer the research questions raised. The findings suggest that the scale can attain high reliability and strong validity in two different samplings, and the underlying construct of self-regulation in English language learning is shown to be multidimensional with a significant impact by gender. Theoretical and pedagogical implications are further put forward in light of the research findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Ta Tseng
- 1 English Department, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Heidi Liu
- 2 Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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23
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Fujimoto T, Okumura E, Kodabashi A, Takeuchi K, Otsubo T, Nakamura K, Yatsushiro K, Sekine M, Kamiya S, Shimooki S, Tamura T. Sex Differences in Gamma Band Functional Connectivity Between the Frontal Lobe and Cortical Areas During an Auditory Oddball Task, as Revealed by Imaginary Coherence Assessment. Open Neuroimag J 2016; 10:85-101. [PMID: 27708745 PMCID: PMC5041205 DOI: 10.2174/1874440001610010085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2016] [Revised: 06/22/2016] [Accepted: 08/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We studied sex-related differences in gamma oscillation during an auditory oddball task, using magnetoencephalography and electroencephalography assessment of imaginary coherence (IC). We obtained a statistical source map of event-related desynchronization (ERD) / event-related synchronization (ERS), and compared females and males regarding ERD / ERS. Based on the results, we chose respectively seed regions for IC determinations in low (30-50 Hz), mid (50-100 Hz) and high gamma (100-150 Hz) bands. In males, ERD was increased in the left posterior cingulate cortex (CGp) at 500 ms in the low gamma band, and in the right caudal anterior cingulate cortex (cACC) at 125 ms in the mid-gamma band. ERS was increased in the left rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) at 375 ms in the high gamma band. We chose the CGp, cACC and rACC as seeds, and examined IC between the seed and certain target regions using the IC map. IC changes depended on the height of the gamma frequency and the time window in the gamma band. Although IC in the mid and high gamma bands did not show sex-specific differences, IC at 30-50 Hz in males was increased between the left rACC and the frontal, orbitofrontal, inferior temporal and fusiform target regions. Increased IC in males suggested that males may acomplish the task constructively, analysingly, emotionally, and by perfoming analysis, and that information processing was more complicated in the cortico-cortical circuit. On the other hand, females showed few differences in IC. Females planned the task with general attention and economical well-balanced processing, which was explained by the higher overall functional cortical connectivity. CGp, cACC and rACC were involved in sex differences in information processing and were likely related to differences in neuroanatomy, hormones and neurotransmitter systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiro Fujimoto
- Fujimoto General Hospital, Fujimoto Medical Systems, Miyazaki, Japan
| | - Eiichi Okumura
- Medical Imaging Business Department, Ricoh Company, Ltd., Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Atsushi Kodabashi
- Fujimoto General Hospital, Fujimoto Medical Systems, Miyazaki, Japan
| | - Kouzou Takeuchi
- Fujimoto General Hospital, Fujimoto Medical Systems, Miyazaki, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Otsubo
- Fujimoto General Hospital, Fujimoto Medical Systems, Miyazaki, Japan
| | - Katsumi Nakamura
- Fujimoto General Hospital, Fujimoto Medical Systems, Miyazaki, Japan
| | | | - Masaki Sekine
- Osaka Electro-Communication University, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Osaka, Japan
| | - Shinichiro Kamiya
- Fujimoto General Hospital, Fujimoto Medical Systems, Miyazaki, Japan
| | - Susumu Shimooki
- Fujimoto General Hospital, Fujimoto Medical Systems, Miyazaki, Japan
| | - Toshiyo Tamura
- Osaka Electro-Communication University, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Osaka, Japan
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24
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Zhang C, Cahill ND, Arbabshirani MR, White T, Baum SA, Michael AM. Sex and Age Effects of Functional Connectivity in Early Adulthood. Brain Connect 2016; 6:700-713. [PMID: 27527561 PMCID: PMC5105352 DOI: 10.1089/brain.2016.0429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Functional connectivity (FC) in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) is widely used to find coactivating regions in the human brain. Despite its widespread use, the effects of sex and age on resting FC are not well characterized, especially during early adulthood. Here we apply regression and graph theoretical analyses to explore the effects of sex and age on FC between the 116 AAL atlas parcellations (a total of 6670 FC measures). rs-fMRI data of 494 healthy subjects (203 males and 291 females; age range: 22–36 years) from the Human Connectome Project were analyzed. We report the following findings. (1) Males exhibited greater FC than females in 1352 FC measures (1025 survived Bonferroni correction; \documentclass{aastex}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{bm}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{pifont}\usepackage{stmaryrd}\usepackage{textcomp}\usepackage{portland, xspace}\usepackage{amsmath, amsxtra}\pagestyle{empty}\DeclareMathSizes{10}{9}{7}{6}\begin{document}
$$p < 7.49{ \rm{E}} - 6$$
\end{document}). In 641 FC measures, females exhibited greater FC than males but none survived Bonferroni correction. Significant FC differences were mainly present in frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes. Although the average FC values for males and females were significantly different, FC values of males and females exhibited large overlap. (2) Age effects were present only in 29 FC measures and all significant age effects showed higher FC in younger subjects. Age and sex differences of FC remained significant after controlling for cognitive measures. (3) Although sex \documentclass{aastex}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{bm}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{pifont}\usepackage{stmaryrd}\usepackage{textcomp}\usepackage{portland, xspace}\usepackage{amsmath, amsxtra}\pagestyle{empty}\DeclareMathSizes{10}{9}{7}{6}\begin{document}
$$\times$$
\end{document} age interaction did not survive multiple comparison correction, FC in females exhibited a faster cross-sectional decline with age. (4) Male brains were more locally clustered in all lobes but the cerebellum; female brains had a higher clustering coefficient at the whole-brain level. Our results indicate that although both male and female brains show small-world network characteristics, male brains were more segregated and female brains were more integrated. Findings of this study further our understanding of FC in early adulthood and provide evidence to support that age and sex should be controlled for in FC studies of young adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Zhang
- 1 Autism and Developmental Medicine Institute , Geisinger Health System, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.,2 Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester, New York
| | - Nathan D Cahill
- 2 Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester, New York.,3 School of Mathematical Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester, New York
| | | | - Tonya White
- 5 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital , Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Stefi A Baum
- 2 Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester, New York.,6 Faculty of Science, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Andrew M Michael
- 1 Autism and Developmental Medicine Institute , Geisinger Health System, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.,2 Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester, New York.,4 Institute for Advanced Application , Geisinger Health System, Danville, Pennsylvania
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25
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Moscoso Del Prado Martín F. Vocabulary, Grammar, Sex, and Aging. Cogn Sci 2016; 41:950-975. [PMID: 28523653 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2015] [Revised: 11/18/2015] [Accepted: 01/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the changes in our language abilities along the lifespan is a crucial step for understanding the aging process both in normal and in abnormal circumstances. Besides controlled experimental tasks, it is equally crucial to investigate language in unconstrained conversation. I present an information-theoretical analysis of a corpus of dyadic conversations investigating how the richness of the vocabulary, the word-internal structure (inflectional morphology), and the syntax of the utterances evolves as a function of the speaker's age and sex. Although vocabulary diversity increases throughout the lifetime, grammatical diversities follow a different pattern, which also differs between women and men. Women use increasingly diverse syntactic structures at least up to their late fifties, and they do not deteriorate in terms of fluency through their lifespan. However, from age 45 onward, men exhibit a decrease in the diversity of the syntactic structures they use, coupled with an increased number of speech disfluencies.
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26
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Bevilacqua A. Commentary: Should Gender Differences be Included in the Evolutionary Upgrade to Cognitive Load Theory? EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10648-016-9362-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Aerts A, van Mierlo P, Hartsuiker RJ, Santens P, De Letter M. Sex Differences in Neurophysiological Activation Patterns During Phonological Input Processing: An Influencing Factor for Normative Data. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2015; 44:2207-2218. [PMID: 26014826 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-015-0560-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2013] [Revised: 06/20/2014] [Accepted: 10/16/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
In the context of neurophysiological normative data, it has been established that aging has a significant impact on neurophysiological correlates of auditory phonological input processes, such as phoneme discrimination (PD) and word recognition (WR). Besides age, sex is another demographic factor that influences several language processes. We aimed to disentangle whether sex has a similar effect on PD and WR. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in 20 men and 24 women. During PD, three phonemic contrasts (place and manner of articulation and voicing) were compared using the attentive P300 and pre-attentive Mismatch Negativity. To investigate WR, real words were contrasted with pseudowords in a pre-attentive oddball task. Women demonstrated a larger sensitivity to spectrotemporal differences, as evidenced by larger P300 responses to the place of articulation (PoA) contrast and larger P300 and MMN responses than men in PoA-based PD. Men did not display such sensitivity. Attention played an important role, considering that women needed more attentional resources to differentiate between PoA and the other phonemic contrasts. During WR, pseudowords evoked larger amplitudes already 100 ms post-stimulus independent of sex. However, women had decreased P200 latencies, but longer N400 latencies in response to pseudowords, whereas men showed increased N400 latencies compared to women in response to real words. The current results demonstrate significant sex-related influences on phonological input processes. Therefore, existing neurophysiological normative data for age should be complemented for the factor sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annelies Aerts
- Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185 (1K12-IA), 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
- Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Pieter van Mierlo
- Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Medical Image and Signal Processing Group, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Patrick Santens
- Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185 (1K12-IA), 9000, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Miet De Letter
- Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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Alm M, Behne D. Do gender differences in audio-visual benefit and visual influence in audio-visual speech perception emerge with age? Front Psychol 2015; 6:1014. [PMID: 26236274 PMCID: PMC4503887 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2014] [Accepted: 07/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Gender and age have been found to affect adults' audio-visual (AV) speech perception. However, research on adult aging focuses on adults over 60 years, who have an increasing likelihood for cognitive and sensory decline, which may confound positive effects of age-related AV-experience and its interaction with gender. Observed age and gender differences in AV speech perception may also depend on measurement sensitivity and AV task difficulty. Consequently both AV benefit and visual influence were used to measure visual contribution for gender-balanced groups of young (20-30 years) and middle-aged adults (50-60 years) with task difficulty varied using AV syllables from different talkers in alternative auditory backgrounds. Females had better speech-reading performance than males. Whereas no gender differences in AV benefit or visual influence were observed for young adults, visually influenced responses were significantly greater for middle-aged females than middle-aged males. That speech-reading performance did not influence AV benefit may be explained by visual speech extraction and AV integration constituting independent abilities. Contrastingly, the gender difference in visually influenced responses in middle adulthood may reflect an experience-related shift in females' general AV perceptual strategy. Although young females' speech-reading proficiency may not readily contribute to greater visual influence, between young and middle-adulthood recurrent confirmation of the contribution of visual cues induced by speech-reading proficiency may gradually shift females AV perceptual strategy toward more visually dominated responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magnus Alm
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim, Norway
| | - Dawn Behne
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim, Norway
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Schaer M, Kochalka J, Padmanabhan A, Supekar K, Menon V. Sex differences in cortical volume and gyrification in autism. Mol Autism 2015; 6:42. [PMID: 26146534 PMCID: PMC4491212 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-015-0035-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2015] [Accepted: 06/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Male predominance is a prominent feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), with a reported male to female ratio of 4:1. Because of the overwhelming focus on males, little is known about the neuroanatomical basis of sex differences in ASD. Investigations of sex differences with adequate sample sizes are critical for improving our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying ASD in females. Methods We leveraged the open-access autism brain imaging data exchange (ABIDE) dataset to obtain structural brain imaging data from 53 females with ASD, who were matched with equivalent samples of males with ASD, and their typically developing (TD) male and female peers. Brain images were processed with FreeSurfer to assess three key features of local cortical morphometry: volume, thickness, and gyrification. A whole-brain approach was used to identify significant effects of sex, diagnosis, and sex-by-diagnosis interaction, using a stringent threshold of p < 0.01 to control for false positives. Stability and power analyses were conducted to guide future research on sex differences in ASD. Results We detected a main effect of sex in the bilateral superior temporal cortex, driven by greater cortical volume in females compared to males in both the ASD and TD groups. Sex-by-diagnosis interaction was detected in the gyrification of the ventromedial/orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex (vmPFC/OFC). Post-hoc analyses revealed that sex-by-diagnosis interaction was driven by reduced vmPFC/OFC gyrification in males with ASD, compared to females with ASD as well as TD males and females. Finally, stability analyses demonstrated a dramatic drop in the likelihood of observing significant clusters as the sample size decreased, suggesting that previous studies have been largely underpowered. For instance, with a sample of 30 females with ASD (total n = 120), a significant sex-by-diagnosis interaction was only detected in 50 % of the simulated subsamples. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that some features of typical sex differences are preserved in the brain of individuals with ASD, while others are not. Sex differences in ASD are associated with cortical regions involved in language and social function, two domains of deficits in the disorder. Stability analyses provide novel quantitative insights into why smaller samples may have previously failed to detect sex differences. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13229-015-0035-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Schaer
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
| | - John Kochalka
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
| | - Aarthi Padmanabhan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
| | - Kaustubh Supekar
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
| | - Vinod Menon
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305 USA ; Program in Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305 USA ; Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA
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30
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Sugiura L, Ojima S, Matsuba-Kurita H, Dan I, Tsuzuki D, Katura T, Hagiwara H. Effects of sex and proficiency in second language processing as revealed by a large-scale fNIRS study of school-aged children. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:3890-911. [PMID: 26147179 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2014] [Revised: 06/11/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous neuroimaging studies in adults have revealed that first and second languages (L1/L2) share similar neural substrates, and that proficiency is a major determinant of the neural organization of L2 in the lexical-semantic and syntactic domains. However, little is known about neural substrates of children in the phonological domain, or about sex differences. Here, we conducted a large-scale study (n = 484) of school-aged children using functional near-infrared spectroscopy and a word repetition task, which requires a great extent of phonological processing. We investigated cortical activation during word processing, emphasizing sex differences, to clarify similarities and differences between L1 and L2, and proficiency-related differences during early L2 learning. L1 and L2 shared similar neural substrates with decreased activation in L2 compared to L1 in the posterior superior/middle temporal and angular/supramarginal gyri for both sexes. Significant sex differences were found in cortical activation within language areas during high-frequency word but not during low-frequency word processing. During high-frequency word processing, widely distributed areas including the angular/supramarginal gyri were activated in boys, while more restricted areas, excluding the angular/supramarginal gyri were activated in girls. Significant sex differences were also found in L2 proficiency-related activation: activation significantly increased with proficiency in boys, whereas no proficiency-related differences were found in girls. Importantly, cortical sex differences emerged with proficiency. Based on previous research, the present results indicate that sex differences are acquired or enlarged during language development through different cognitive strategies between sexes, possibly reflecting their different memory functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Sugiura
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan.,Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society (RISTEX), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Niban-Cho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 100-0004, Japan.,Research Center for Language, Brain and Genetics, Tokyo Metropolitan University
| | - Shiro Ojima
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan.,Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society (RISTEX), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Niban-Cho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 100-0004, Japan
| | - Hiroko Matsuba-Kurita
- Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society (RISTEX), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Niban-Cho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 100-0004, Japan
| | - Ippeita Dan
- Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 112-8551, Japan
| | - Daisuke Tsuzuki
- Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 112-8551, Japan.,Information Science and Technology Department, National Institute of Technology, Yuge College, 1000 Shimoyuge, Yuge, Kamijima-cho, Ochi-gun, Ehime, 794-2593, Japan
| | - Takusige Katura
- Center for Exploratory Research, Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd., Hatoyama, Saitama, 350-0395, Japan
| | - Hiroko Hagiwara
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan.,Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society (RISTEX), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Niban-Cho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 100-0004, Japan.,Research Center for Language, Brain and Genetics, Tokyo Metropolitan University
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31
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Eichstaedt KE, Soble JR, Kamper JE, Bozorg AM, Benbadis SR, Vale FL, Schoenberg MR. Sex differences in lateralization of semantic verbal fluency in temporal lobe epilepsy. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2015; 141:11-15. [PMID: 25522368 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2014.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2014] [Revised: 11/07/2014] [Accepted: 11/23/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
When differences exist, women tend to outperform men on measures of verbal fluency, possibly due to greater bilateral language representation. Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) have a higher rate of atypical cortical language representation than the general population, making them a population of interest for the study of language. For the current study, 78 TLE patients (51% male, 51% left temporal focus) underwent pre-surgical neuropsychological evaluations. Retrospective data analyses investigated the impact of seizure laterality and sex on letter and semantic verbal fluency. Results indicated an interaction between sex and laterality for semantic, but not letter, verbal fluency. Males with left TLE exhibited significantly worse semantic fluency than males with right TLE, whereas females' semantic fluency did not differ by seizure focus. These data indicate that females with TLE may indeed engage in more bilateral hemispheric processing of semantic verbal fluency, whereas males may be more reliant on left temporal cortical function for this task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie E Eichstaedt
- University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, 3515 East Fletcher Avenue, MDC Box 14, Tampa, FL 33613, USA.
| | - Jason R Soble
- South Texas Veterans Healthcare System, Psychology Service (116B), 7400 Merton Minter Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78229, USA.
| | - Joel E Kamper
- University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, 3515 East Fletcher Avenue, MDC Box 14, Tampa, FL 33613, USA; James A. Haley Veterans Administration Medical Center, Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences (116B), 13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, FL 33602, USA.
| | - Ali M Bozorg
- University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, 3515 East Fletcher Avenue, MDC Box 14, Tampa, FL 33613, USA.
| | - Selim R Benbadis
- University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, 3515 East Fletcher Avenue, MDC Box 14, Tampa, FL 33613, USA.
| | - Fernando L Vale
- University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, 3515 East Fletcher Avenue, MDC Box 14, Tampa, FL 33613, USA.
| | - Mike R Schoenberg
- University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, 3515 East Fletcher Avenue, MDC Box 14, Tampa, FL 33613, USA.
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Case SS, Oetama-Paul AJ. Brain Biology and Gendered Discourse. APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY-AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW-PSYCHOLOGIE APPLIQUEE-REVUE INTERNATIONALE 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/apps.12040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Susan S. Case
- Weatherhead School of Management; Case Western Reserve University; USA
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33
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Bowers JM, Perez-Pouchoulen M, Roby CR, Ryan TE, McCarthy MM. Androgen modulation of Foxp1 and Foxp2 in the developing rat brain: impact on sex specific vocalization. Endocrinology 2014; 155:4881-94. [PMID: 25247470 PMCID: PMC4239422 DOI: 10.1210/en.2014-1486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Sex differences in vocal communication are prevalent in both the animals and humans. The mechanism(s) mediating gender differences in human language are unknown, although, sex hormones, principally androgens, play a central role in the development of vocalizations in a wide variety of animal species. The discovery of FOXP2 has added an additional avenue for exploring the origins of language and animal communication. The FOXP2 gene is a member of the forkhead box P (FOXP) family of transcription factors. Prior to the prenatal androgen surge in male fetuses, we observed no sex difference for Foxp2 protein levels in cultured cells. In contrast, 24 hours after the onset of the androgen surge, we found a sex difference for Foxp2 protein levels in cultured cortical cells with males having higher levels than females. Furthermore, we observed the potent nonaromatizable androgen dihydrotestosterone altered not only Foxp2 mRNA and protein levels but also Foxp1. Androgen effects on both Foxp2 and Foxp1 were found to occur in the striatum, cerebellar vermis, and cortex. Immunofluorescence microscopy and coimmunoprecipitation demonstrate Foxp2 and the androgen receptor protein interact. Databases for transcription factor binding sites predict a consensus binding motif for androgen receptor on the Foxp2 promoter regions. We also observed a sex difference in rat pup vocalization with males vocalizing more than females and treatment of females with dihydrotestosterone eliminated the sex difference. We propose that androgens might be an upstream regulator of both Foxp2 and Foxp1 expression and signaling. This has important implications for language and communication as well as neuropsychiatric developmental disorders involving impairments in communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Michael Bowers
- Department of Pharmacology (J.M.B., M.P.-P., C.R.R., M.M.M.), University of Maryland School of Medicine and Programs in Neuroscience (M.M.M.) and Medicine (T.E.R.), University of Maryland School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
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34
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Liang HJ, Lau CG, Tang KLA, Chan F, Ungvari GS, Tang WK. Are sexes affected differently by ketamine? An exploratory study in ketamine users. Subst Use Misuse 2014; 49:395-404. [PMID: 24106975 DOI: 10.3109/10826084.2013.841248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
One hundred primary ketamine users and 100 controls were recruited in Hong Kong between December 2009 and December 2011. Cognitive assessment included general intelligence, working, verbal, and visual memory, and executive functions. A Univariate General Linear Model was used to compare cognitive performance between the male and female ketamine users and controls. The female users appeared to have a higher risk of visual memory impairment than their male counterparts. Further studies are warranted to clarify the mechanism of the sex-specific effect of ketamine on cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua Jun Liang
- 1Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
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35
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Dekker S, Krabbendam L, Aben A, de Groot R, Jolles J. Coding task performance in early adolescence: a large-scale controlled study into boy-girl differences. Front Psychol 2013; 4:550. [PMID: 23986733 PMCID: PMC3753433 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2013] [Accepted: 08/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study examined differences between boys and girls regarding efficiency of information processing in early adolescence. Three hundred and six healthy adolescents (50.3% boys) in grade 7 and 9 (aged 13 and 15, respectively) performed a coding task based on over-learned symbols. An age effect was revealed as subjects in grade 9 performed better than subjects in grade 7. Main effects for sex were found in the advantage of girls. The 25% best-performing students comprised twice as many girls as boys. The opposite pattern was found for the worst performing 25%. In addition, a main effect was found for educational track in favor of the highest track. No interaction effects were found. School grades did not explain additional variance in LDST performance. This indicates that cognitive performance is relatively independent from school performance. Student characteristics like age, sex, and education level were more important for efficiency of information processing than school performance. The findings imply that after age 13, efficiency of information processing is still developing and that girls outperform boys in this respect. The findings provide new information on the mechanisms underlying boy-girl differences in scholastic performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanne Dekker
- Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, LEARN! Institute, VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
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36
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Savica R, Grossardt BR, Bower JH, Ahlskog JE, Rocca WA. Risk factors for Parkinson's disease may differ in men and women: an exploratory study. Horm Behav 2013; 63:308-14. [PMID: 22687345 PMCID: PMC3477259 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2012] [Revised: 04/13/2012] [Accepted: 05/31/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Although several environmental and genetic risk or protective factors have been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), their interactions overall and in men and women separately remain unknown. We used the medical records-linkage system of the Rochester Epidemiology Project to identify 196 subjects who developed PD in Olmsted County, MN, from 1976 through 1995. Each incident case was matched by age (±1 year) and sex to a general population control. We considered the following 12 risk or protective factors: personal history of head trauma, pesticide use, immunologic diseases, anemia, hysterectomy (in women only), cigarette smoking, coffee consumption, and education; and family history of parkinsonism, essential tremor, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. We used recursive partitioning analyses to explore interactions overall and in men and women separately and used logistic regression analyses to test for interactions. In the overall group, we observed the independent effects of anemia, lack of coffee consumption (never vs. ever), and head trauma; however, the findings were different in men and women. In men, we observed the independent effects of lack of coffee consumption (never vs. ever), head trauma, and pesticide use, and a suggestive synergistic interaction between immunologic diseases and family history of dementia. By contrast, in women, anemia was the most important factor and we observed a suggestive synergistic interaction between anemia and higher education. Risk factors for PD and their interactions may differ in men and women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodolfo Savica
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Sciences Research, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Department of Health Sciences Research, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
| | - Brandon R. Grossardt
- Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
| | - James H. Bower
- Department of Neurology, Department of Health Sciences Research, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
| | - J. Eric Ahlskog
- Department of Neurology, Department of Health Sciences Research, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
| | - Walter A. Rocca
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Sciences Research, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Department of Health Sciences Research, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
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Burman DD, Minas T, Bolger DJ, Booth JR. Age, sex, and verbal abilities affect location of linguistic connectivity in ventral visual pathway. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2013; 124:184-93. [PMID: 23376366 PMCID: PMC3572208 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2012.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2011] [Revised: 10/19/2012] [Accepted: 12/16/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that the strength of connectivity between regions can vary depending upon the cognitive demands of a task. In this study, the location of task-dependent connectivity from the primary visual cortex (V1) was examined in 43 children (ages 9-15) performing visual tasks; connectivity maxima were identified for a visual task requiring a linguistic (orthographic) judgment. Age, sex, and verbal IQ interacted to affect maxima location. Increases in age and verbal IQ produced similar shifts in maxima location; in girls, connectivity maxima shifted primarily laterally within the left temporal lobe, whereas the shift was primarily posterior within occipital cortex among boys. A composite map across all subjects shows an expansion in the area of connectivity with age. Results show that the location of visual/linguistic connectivity varies systematically during development, suggesting that both sex differences and developmental changes in V1 connectivity are related to linguistic function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas D. Burman
- Center for Advanced Imaging, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
- Dept. of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Taylor Minas
- Dept. of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Donald J. Bolger
- Dept. of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Dept. of Human Development, Maryland University, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| | - James R. Booth
- Dept. of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
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Allendorfer JB, Lindsell CJ, Siegel M, Banks CL, Vannest J, Holland SK, Szaflarski JP. Females and males are highly similar in language performance and cortical activation patterns during verb generation. Cortex 2012; 48:1218-33. [PMID: 21676387 PMCID: PMC3179789 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2011.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2010] [Revised: 02/18/2011] [Accepted: 05/16/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To test the existence of sex differences in cortical activation during verb generation when performance is controlled for. METHODS Twenty male and 20 female healthy adults underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using a covert block-design verb generation task (BD-VGT) and its event-related version (ER-VGT) that allowed for intra-scanner recordings of overt responses. Task-specific activations were determined using the following contrasts: BD-VGT covert generation>finger-tapping; ER-VGT overt generation>repetition; ER-VGT overt>covert generation. Lateral cortical regions activated during each contrast were used for calculating language lateralization index scores. Voxelwise regressions were used to determine sex differences in activation, with and without controlling for performance. Each brain region showing male/female activation differences for ER-VGT overt generation>repetition (isolating noun-verb association) was defined as a region of interest (ROI). For each subject, the signal change in each ROI was extracted, and the association between ER-VGT activation related to noun-verb association and performance was assessed separately for each sex. RESULTS Males and females performed similarly on language assessments, had similar patterns of language lateralization, and exhibited similar activation patterns for each fMRI task contrast. Regression analysis controlling for overt intra-scanner performance either abolished (BD-VGT) or reduced (ER-VGT) the observed differences in activation between sexes. The main difference between sexes occurred during ER-VGT processing of noun-verb associations, where males showed greater activation than females in the right middle/superior frontal gyrus (MFG/SFG) and the right caudate/anterior cingulate gyrus (aCG) after controlling for performance. Better verb generation performance was associated with increased right caudate/aCG activation in males and with increased right MFG/SFG activation in females. CONCLUSIONS Males and females exhibit similar activation patterns during verb generation fMRI, and controlling for intra-scanner performance reduces or even abolishes sex differences in language-related activation. These results suggest that previous findings of sex differences in neuroimaging studies that did not control for task performance may reflect false positives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane B Allendorfer
- Department of Neurology, University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0525, USA.
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39
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Brain responses mediating idiom comprehension: Gender and hemispheric differences. Brain Res 2012; 1467:18-26. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.05.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2011] [Revised: 05/12/2012] [Accepted: 05/15/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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40
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Powell JL, Kemp GJ, Roberts N, García-Finaña M. Sulcal morphology and volume of Broca's area linked to handedness and sex. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2012; 121:206-218. [PMID: 22482924 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2012.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2011] [Revised: 02/28/2012] [Accepted: 03/07/2012] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the effect of handedness and sex on: (i) sulcal contours defining PO and PTR and (ii) volume estimates of PO and PTR subfields in 40 left- and 42 right-handers. Results show an effect of handedness on discontinuity of the inferior frontal sulcus (IFS: P<0.01). Discontinuity of IFS was observed in: 43% left- and 62% right hemispheres in right-handers and in 65% left- and 48% right-hemispheres in left-handers. PO volume asymmetry was rightward in left-handed males (P=0.007) and females (P=0.02), showed a leftward trend in right-handed males (P=0.06), and was non-asymmetrical in right-handed females (P=0.96, i.e. left- and right-hemisphere PO volumes did not differ significantly). PO volume asymmetry in males differed significantly between handedness groups (P=0.001). Findings indicate a high degree of variability in the sulcal contours of PO and PTR and volume asymmetry of PO: the factors sex and handedness can explain some of this variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanne L Powell
- Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research Centre (MARIARC), University of Liverpool, UK.
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Filippi M, Valsasina P, Misci P, Falini A, Comi G, Rocca MA. The organization of intrinsic brain activity differs between genders: a resting-state fMRI study in a large cohort of young healthy subjects. Hum Brain Mapp 2012; 34:1330-43. [PMID: 22359372 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2011] [Revised: 10/04/2011] [Accepted: 10/14/2011] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate, using resting state (RS) functional MRI (fMRI), gender-related differences of functional connectivity (FC) and functional network connectivity (FNC) of the human brain. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN One-hundred and four young healthy subjects (48/56 men/women), aged between 20 and 29 years, underwent a 10-min RS fMRI acquisition. Independent component analysis (ICA) and statistical parametric mapping were used to assess gender-related differences in RSNs, with and without correction for regional gray matter (GM) volume. The relationships among all RSNs was also assessed using a FNC method. PRINCIPAL OBSERVATIONS For all networks, significant between-group differences of RS activity were found. Between-group comparisons of RSNs changed when adjusting for GM volume, as follows: (1) there was only marginal effect on the analysis of sensory (i.e., sensorimotor, visual, and auditory) networks; and (2) there was a significantly increased difference when cognitive networks (apart from one related to attention) were considered. Compared with women, men experienced increased FC in parietal and occipital regions in most RSNs, whereas women experienced a higher RS FC in frontal and temporal regions, and in the cerebellum. When compared to women, increased FNC was found in men between several cognitive and sensory networks, whereas women showed an increased FNC only between attention and right working-memory networks. CONCLUSIONS The organization of intrinsic FC and FNC differ between genders. The detected differences could contribute to the understanding of the known between-gender variation in task-related recruitments, and the patterns of abnormalities detected in neurologic and psychiatric diseases with a gender prevalence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Massimo Filippi
- Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Scientific Institute and Vita-Salute University, Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
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Kaiser A. Re-Conceptualizing “Sex” and “Gender” in the Human Brain. ZEITSCHRIFT FUR PSYCHOLOGIE-JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1027/2151-2604/a000104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
When is an observed dissimilarity between brains of females and males a “sex” difference and when is it a “gender” difference? The aim of this conceptual paper is to pinpoint the understandings of “sex” and “gender” within neuropsychological research, as these terms implicitly lead to overlapping and nonspecific associations when variables concerning female and male characteristics are operationalized. Also, it is argued, following a central approach within gender studies, that it is impossible for the variables of “sex” and “gender” to be categorized as solely biological or solely social components or to be measured or recorded as such, and for this reason, they should in fact be regarded as a unity and designated as sex/gender.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anelis Kaiser
- Center for Cognitive Science, Institute of Computer Science and Social Research, University of Freiburg, Germany
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Giummarra MJ, Bradshaw JL, Nicholls MER, Hilti LM, Brugger P. Body integrity identity disorder: deranged body processing, right fronto-parietal dysfunction, and phenomenological experience of body incongruity. Neuropsychol Rev 2011; 21:320-33. [PMID: 22086292 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-011-9184-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2011] [Accepted: 10/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Body integrity identity disorder (BIID) is characterised by profound experience of incongruity between the biological and desired body structure. The condition manifests in "non-belonging" of body parts, and the subsequent desire to amputate, paralyse or disable a limb. Little is known about BIID; however, a neuropsychological model implicating right fronto-parietal and insular networks is emerging, with potential disruption to body representation. We argue that, as there is scant systematic research on BIID published to date and much of the research is methodologically weak, it is premature to assume that the only process underlying bodily experience that is compromised is body representation. The present review systematically investigates which aspects of neurological processing of the body, and sense of self, may be compromised in BIID. We argue that the disorder most likely reflects dysregulation in multiple levels of body processing. That is, the disunity between self and the body could arguably come about through congenital and/or developmental disruption of body representations, which, together with altered multisensory integration, may preclude the experience of self-attribution and embodiment of affected body parts. Ulimately, there is a need for official diagnostic criteria to facilitate epidemiological characterisation of BIID, and for further research to systematically investigate which aspects of body representation and processing are truly compromised in the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melita J Giummarra
- Experimental Neuropsychology Research Unit, School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
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Fussell NJ, Rowe AC, Mohr C. Hemispheric processing of differently valenced and self-relevant attachment words in middle-aged married and separated individuals. Laterality 2011; 17:453-85. [PMID: 21400347 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2010.506690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The reliance in experimental psychology on testing undergraduate populations with relatively little life experience, and/or ambiguously valenced stimuli with varying degrees of self-relevance, may have contributed to inconsistent findings in the literature on the valence hypothesis. To control for these potential limitations, the current study assessed lateralised lexical decisions for positive and negative attachment words in 40 middle-aged male and female participants. Self-relevance was manipulated in two ways: by testing currently married compared with previously married individuals and by assessing self-relevance ratings individually for each word. Results replicated a left hemisphere advantage for lexical decisions and a processing advantage of emotional over neutral words but did not support the valence hypothesis. Positive attachment words yielded a processing advantage over neutral words in the right hemisphere, while emotional words (irrespective of valence) yielded a processing advantage over neutral words in the left hemisphere. Both self-relevance manipulations were unrelated to lateralised performance. The role of participant sex and age in emotion processing are discussed as potential modulators of the present findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola J Fussell
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, 12a Priory Road, Bristol, UK.
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Lejbak L, Crossley M, Vrbancic M. A male advantage for spatial and object but not verbal working memory using the n-back task. Brain Cogn 2011; 76:191-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2010.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2009] [Revised: 11/19/2010] [Accepted: 12/03/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Sex-dependent modulation of activity in the neural networks engaged during emotional speech comprehension. Brain Res 2011; 1390:108-17. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2011.03.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2010] [Revised: 03/15/2011] [Accepted: 03/16/2011] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Koester D, Schiller NO. The functional neuroanatomy of morphology in language production. Neuroimage 2011; 55:732-41. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.11.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2010] [Revised: 11/04/2010] [Accepted: 11/12/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
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van den Brink D, Van Berkum JJA, Bastiaansen MCM, Tesink CMJY, Kos M, Buitelaar JK, Hagoort P. Empathy matters: ERP evidence for inter-individual differences in social language processing. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2010; 7:173-83. [PMID: 21148175 PMCID: PMC3277364 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsq094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
When an adult claims he cannot sleep without his teddy bear, people tend to react surprised. Language interpretation is, thus, influenced by social context, such as who the speaker is. The present study reveals inter-individual differences in brain reactivity to social aspects of language. Whereas women showed brain reactivity when stereotype-based inferences about a speaker conflicted with the content of the message, men did not. This sex difference in social information processing can be explained by a specific cognitive trait, one's ability to empathize. Individuals who empathize to a greater degree revealed larger N400 effects (as well as a larger increase in γ-band power) to socially relevant information. These results indicate that individuals with high-empathizing skills are able to rapidly integrate information about the speaker with the content of the message, as they make use of voice-based inferences about the speaker to process language in a top-down manner. Alternatively, individuals with lower empathizing skills did not use information about social stereotypes in implicit sentence comprehension, but rather took a more bottom-up approach to the processing of these social pragmatic sentences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniëlle van den Brink
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9101, NL-6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Šveljo OB, Koprivšek KM, Lučić MA, Prvulović MB, Ćulić M. Gender differences in brain areas involved in silent counting by means of fMRI. NONLINEAR BIOMEDICAL PHYSICS 2010; 4 Suppl 1:S2. [PMID: 20522263 PMCID: PMC2880799 DOI: 10.1186/1753-4631-4-s1-s2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pattern of brain asymmetries varies with handedness, gender, age, and with variety of genetic and social factors. Large-scale neuroimaging analyses can optimize the detection of asymmetric features and confirm the factors that might modulate pattern of brain asymmetries. We attempted to evaluate eventual differences between genders in hemodynamic responses to a simple language task. METHODS 12 healthy right-handed volunteers (age 24-46), 6 men and 6 women underwent fMRI scanning while performing the simple cognitive - language processing task - silent number counting in Serbian. RESULTS Group analysis of hemodynamic responses shows activation in expected brain language areas of inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and superior temporal gyrus (STG) in both hemispheres. In the male group, aside from dedicated language areas in IFG and STG, activation was noted in right frontal region and interhemispheric supplementary motor area. On the other hand, in the female group, besides activation in dedicated language areas, activation was noted, in right hippocampus, limbic brain and cerebellum bilaterally. CONCLUSIONS Our results on differences in silent counting by means of fMRI suggest that those differences may be based on different brain pattern activation in men and women. The relation between performance, strategies and regional brain activation should be the topic of further studies when considering not only gender differences in language processing but also differences that may be attributed to the variations in the task details, stimuli, and the stimulus presentation methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivera B Šveljo
- Diagnostic Imaging Centre, Institute of Oncology, Instituski put 4, Sremska Kamenica, Serbia
| | - Katarina M Koprivšek
- Diagnostic Imaging Centre, Institute of Oncology, Instituski put 4, Sremska Kamenica, Serbia
| | - Miloš A Lučić
- Diagnostic Imaging Centre, Institute of Oncology, Instituski put 4, Sremska Kamenica, Serbia
| | - Mladen B Prvulović
- Diagnostic Imaging Centre, Institute of Oncology, Instituski put 4, Sremska Kamenica, Serbia
| | - Milka Ćulić
- Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade, Bulevar despota Stefana 142, Belgrade, Serbia
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