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
- Diliana Pecheva
- Diana M. Smith
- BJ Casey
- Lianne J. Woodward
- Anders M. Dale
- Christopher G. Filippi
- Richard Watts
- Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
- Barnard College, New York
- University of California, San Diego
- University of Canterbury, New Zealand
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sex.scene
SCENES:- Figure 1a. Thalamus Hindered Isotropic Effect Size
- Figure 1b. Thalamus Hindered Isotropic Males
- Figure 1c. Thalamus Hindered Isotropic Females
- Figure 2. Hippocampus Restricted Isotropic Effect Size
- Figure 2 (Supplemental). Hippocampus Restricted Isotropic Males
- Figure 2 (Supplemental). Hippocampus Restricted Isotropic Females
- Figure S1. Restricted Isotropic Effect Size
- Figure S2. Restricted Isotropic t-statistic
- Figure S3. Restricted Isotropic Effect Size with Volume/Jacobian
- Figure S4. Restricted Isotropic t-statistic with Volume/Jacobian
- Figure S5. Hindered Isotropic Effect Size
- Figure S6. Hindered Isotropic t-statistic
- Figure S7. Hindered Isotropic Effect Size with Volume/Jacobian
- Figure S8. Hindered Isotropic t-statistic with Volume/Jacobian
- Free Water Effect Size
- Free Water t-statistic
- Free Water Effect Size with Volume/Jacobian
- Free Water t-statistic with Volume/Jacobian
- Figure S9. Restricted Directional Effect Size
- Figure S10. Restricted Directional t-statistic
- Figure S11. Restricted Directional Effect Size with Volume/Jacobian
- Figure S12. Directional Isotropic t-statistic with Volume/Jacobian
- Figure S13. Mean Diffusivity Effect Size
- Figure S14. Mean Diffusivity t-statistic
- Figure S15. Mean Diffusivity Effect Size with Volume/Jacobian
- Figure S16. Mean Diffusivity t-statistic with Volume/Jacobian
- Figure S17. Fractional Anisotropy Effect Size
- Figure S18. Fractional Anisotropy t-statistic
- Figure S19. Fractional Anisotopy Effect Size with Volume/Jacobian
- Figure S20. Fractional Anisotropy t-statistic with Volume/Jacobian