A collaborative team of neuroscientists and behavioral specialists from the U.S., New Zealand, and Canada has identified structural differences between male and female brains in areas related to decision-making, memory processing, and emotional regulation. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed over 1,000 brain scans to explore why men and women are more susceptible to different types of brain illnesses.
Prior research has shown that male babies are three times more likely to be diagnosed with autism and twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD compared to female babies. Conversely, female babies are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety or mood disorders later in life. Mental health specialists have long speculated that these differences may be due to physical brain differences between genders, and the research team believes they have found evidence supporting this hypothesis.
To investigate gender differences in the brain, the researchers focused on subcortical gray matter regions, such as the amygdala and thalamus, which have been linked to mental health. They analyzed MRI scans of 1,065 male and female brains, examining brain microstructures like cell concentration, arrangement, and physical characteristics.
The study revealed significant sex-related differences in brain microstructures. These differences persisted even after accounting for age and brain size. Additionally, the researchers identified diffusion metrics in the amygdala and thalamus that might be associated with mental disorders such as anxiety, ADHD, social skills issues, and depression.
The team suggests that further research using diffusion MRI imagery could provide deeper insights into gender-based brain disorders.
