Study: Sex and Mental Health are Related to Subcortical Brain Microstructure

FULL TITLE:
Sex and Mental Health are Related to Subcortical Brain Microstructure

SPECIES:
Human

ABSTRACT:
Some mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are more common in females, while others such as autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity are more common in males. However, the neurobiological origins of these sex differences are poorly understood. Animal studies have shown substantial sex differences in neuronal and glial cell structure, while human brain imaging studies have shown only small differences, which largely reflect overall body and brain size. Advanced diffusion MRI techniques can be used to examine intracellular, extracellular, and free water signal contributions, and provide unique insights into microscopic cellular structure. However, the extent to which sex differences exist in these metrics of subcortical grey matter structures implicated in psychiatric disorders are not known. Here we show large sex-related differences in microstructure in subcortical regions, including the hippocampus, thalamus, and nucleus accumbens in a large sample of young adults. Unlike conventional T1-weighted structural imaging, large sex-differences remained after adjustment for age and brain volume. Further, diffusion metrics in the thalamus and amygdala were associated with depression, anxiety, attention deficit/hyperactivity, and antisocial personality problems. Diffusion MRI may provide mechanistic insights into the origin of sex differences in behavior and mental health over the life course, and help to bridge the gap between findings from experimental, epidemiological, and clinical mental health research.

PUBLICATION:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2403212121

AUTHORS:
  • Diliana Pecheva
  • Diana M. Smith
  • BJ Casey
  • Lianne J. Woodward
  • Anders M. Dale
  • Christopher G. Filippi
  • Richard Watts
INSTITUTIONS:
  • University of California, San Diego
  • University of Canterbury, New Zealand
  • Barnard College, New York
  • Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
SCENE FILES: